OPPO F19 could boast 10x lossless zoom

Before it became especially known for the Find X bezel-less phone with elevating front sensors, OPPO was making splashes at major tech events with single pieces of technologies that would eventually find their way to its smartphones. From VOOC fast charging to multiple levels of camera zoom, OPPO has been proving that not only does it make smartphones, it also makes technologies that make those smartphones special. It might soon be making yet another such splash with the OPPO F19 which could be the first of its kind to flaunt 10x lossless zoom.

OPPO's obsession with lossless zoom isn't really new. Back in MWC 2017, OPPO showed off its predecessor, a camera system with 5x optical zoom. Non-digital lossless zoom has been a holy grail of smartphone cameras because of the number of lenses required to achieve that level of zoom. That is pretty much the reason why actual cameras have lenses that extrude at great lengths from the body.

OPPO's solution is almost ingenious. Instead of protruding outside, the smartphone maker put the lenses inside the phone and arranged them in a periscope-like fashion. But in addition to that design, it was still able to squeeze the entire camera module into a 5.7 mm thin phone.

According to a number of leaked sketches, the OPPO F19 will be sporting the next step up from that, boasting of 10x lossless zoom. Those same sketches also hint at a front camera that's built into the display. In other words, a screen with a hole. That seems to be the price to pay for having no bezels and no elevating or sliding parts.

There is no word yet on when the OPPO F19 will come but it is expected to have a 6.3-inch 19.5:9 "Full View" screen, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 or MediaTek Helio P90 processor, and, of course the company's VOOC Flash Charging technology. If OPPO can offer all that at an affordable price, it could again, have another mid-range winner in the bag.