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Samsung developing continuous optical zoom for smartphone cameras
Samsung Electro-Mechanics is reportedly building a telephoto module with continuous optical zoom, a capability that could redefine smartphone photography. Unlike today’s typical fixed telephoto lenses that switch between set zoom steps such as 3x, 5x, or 10x and rely on digital cropping between them, a continuous optical zoom lens shifts smoothly across focal lengths while preserving raw detail and sharpness.
How the technology works and key features
Optical design and mechanics
The continuous optical zoom design splits the lens into multiple groups that move independently to vary focal length. That precision movement maintains an optical path across a zoom range, delivering consistent image quality at intermediate focal lengths. Samsung has filed patents in 2024 and 2025, signaling ongoing R&D and refinement of the telephoto module mechanics.
Trade-offs and engineering challenges
The benefits come with engineering costs: a larger, more complex camera module, sensitive mechanical tolerances, and the need for tight alignment and stabilization. Manufacturers will have to balance thickness and weight against optical performance when integrating these modules into flagship phones.
Comparisons and market context
Most flagship phones today mix fixed telephoto optics and advanced image processing. Companies like Google lean heavily on computational photography instead of bulky hardware, using AI to enhance zoomed shots. Sony previously explored seamless optical zoom in devices such as the Xperia 1 VII, which offered true optical movement between roughly 3.5x and 7.1x. The hardware worked well, but Xperia phones never reached broad commercial success.
Advantages and practical use cases
Continuous optical zoom improves photo quality for sports, wildlife, travel, and journalism by maintaining sharpness and dynamic range across the zoom band. It also reduces reliance on aggressive digital zoom and overprocessing, which can introduce artifacts. For video, smooth optical zoom produces more cinematic results without losing resolution.
Who will adopt it first and why it matters
Reports suggest Samsung is pitching the module to Chinese brands such as Xiaomi, which frequently adopt experimental camera hardware. For Samsung Electro-Mechanics, selling high-value modules like continuous optical zoom, variable apertures, and thinner lens stacks is a strategic response to a slowing smartphone component market. If successful, continuous optical zoom could shift super-zoom marketing from a gimmick to a genuine capability, with Chinese flagships likely to lead the first wave of mainstream adoption.
Outlook
The timeline for wide availability remains uncertain, but patents and supplier outreach indicate momentum. For photographers and tech enthusiasts, continuous optical zoom is a development worth watching as phone makers push the limits of smartphone cameras and optical engineering.
Source: gizmochina
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