LG's Smartphone Camera Module Is All Zoom, No Bump
Cameras are one of the biggest selling points in the modern smartphone market, and it makes sense as to why. The powerful hardware included in modern mid-range and flagship devices allows users to easily capture important moments in their lives — and in some cases, express creative interests without spending extra on an expensive camera, or having to carry a heavy camera around with them.
Smartphone cameras are kind of a double-edged sword, though. The same portability and form factor that gives smartphone cameras their convenience factor also limit the capability of the hardware. Size constraints lead to fixed apertures, limited zoom capabilities, and small sensors. While most were content with multiple fixed-zoom lenses on the back of the phone, some manufacturers — like Samsung with the Galaxy S22 Ultra and Sony with the Xperia I IV — have gotten more creative with variable zoom systems.
LG may have left the smartphone market altogether, but that doesn't mean it's done innovating in the industry. In preparation for CES 2023, LG Innotek (a subsidiary of LG) has teased an update to some innovative camera tech for new smartphones.
A thinner, continuous zoom camera module for iPhone 15?
On Tuesday, December 27, 2022, the LG Innotek announced that it will be unveiling what it calls the "Optical Telephoto Zoom Camera Module" at CES 2023 — which starts on January 5, 2023.
According to LG Innotek, the new periscope-style camera module will have a magnification range of four to nine times, and will be able to capture images and videos throughout the zoom range rather than in steps, like multi-lens setups. LG Innotek are developing the software controlling the module with Qualcomm Technologies to have the ability to control the zoom actuation mechanism with greater accuracy than its predecessors — all the way down to micrometer-level granularity. The module is developed to have optical image stabilization, while LG Innotek and Qualcomm will optimize the technology to work with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC that's set to be unveiled in 2023.
According to Korea IT News, LG Innotek is set to be a major supplier for Apple iPhone camera modules in the coming years, indicating that a variable zoom camera may be a possibility for the iPhone 15. Although, given Apple's preference for a polished feature that arrives later than the competition, it might be further down the line. If Apple is to use Innotek's new camera module, it will probably first make its way to the Pro and Pro Max versions, given that the iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max are the only ones to offer dedicated zoom modules in the 2022 lineup.