Huawei P20 Pro

[rizole]

I suspect we're at a temporary plateau as far as wow factor goes for cameraphones

I wonder if we're at a physical limit for optics. I'm not sure where we can go from here with the hardware and as good as software may be and might get, isn't the bottom line the lenses and the limited space they have to work in?

 

[rizole]

Seems to me, given the cameras are not gaining significant ground, what's being overlooked/purposely ignored by manufacturers is

• Bigger batteries
• Expandable storage

I'd so buy a phone with a camera as good as my current one but with better battery life and a slot for a micro sd card or enough storage to make the SD card redundant.
There are manufacturers out there that address these concerns but none, as far as I know, that have cameras that can compete with the best in their class.

 

[terse]

I wonder if we're at a physical limit for optics

I suspect not. There may be some physical limit up ahead for what you can do with a sensor of the size usually used in phones -- if you assume straight line development -- but I'd guess there will be branching paths that will continue to move cameraphones forward, except...

Since you started me thinking about this, I've begun to wonder if we might see a different kind of limit up ahead, related to market saturation. It takes money (profits) to develop better and better camera chains for phones. Right now, cameras seem to be one of the big drivers for phone sales, especially upgrades. So what happens when everybody has a cameraphone and every cameraphone is pretty much as good as most people need or want? Will there be enough profit in selling new phones to pay for the research/development to make the camera chain better? Or will the profit be somewhere else?

 

[ImageArt]

Seems to me, given the cameras are not gaining significant ground, what's being overlooked/purposely ignored by manufacturers is

• Bigger batteries
• Expandable storage

I'd so buy a phone with a camera as good as my current one but with better battery life and a slot for a micro sd card or enough storage to make the SD card redundant.
There are manufacturers out there that address these concerns but none, as far as I know, that have cameras that can compete with the best in their class.

Lack of storage expansion was the reason why I never bought an iPhone, or an iPad for that matter, in the first place. It was only my chance discovery of Mobitog that convinced me that an iPhone was worth getting for it’s camera capabilities. Nobody would need to pay the exorbitant prices for the top iPhones if they had a slot - definitely another Apple strategy to make money at the customers expense. It would also make backing up to the PC much easier which Apple has also tried to make difficult.

 

[ImageArt]

Since you started me thinking about this, I've begun to wonder if we might see a different kind of limit up ahead, related to market saturation. It takes money (profits) to develop better and better camera chains for phones. Right now, cameras seem to be one of the big drivers for phone sales, especially upgrades. So what happens when everybody has a cameraphone and every cameraphone is pretty much as good as most people need or want? Will there be enough profit in selling new phones to pay for the research/development to make the camera chain better? Or will the profit be somewhere else?

Yes, we must be there now. Even we, as phone camera enthusiasts are not upgrading as we used to and on my course, the tech is woefully behind. One lady still has the original iPad mini and another an iPhone 5. One person has an iPhone 8 but doesn’t have an iPad and has decided that it has to do as both an iPhone and iPad.

 

[sinnerjohn]

I'm kind of pleased I didn't go down the Huawei route now, although it probably sounds much worse than the news reports.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-48334739

 

[TomHH]

That's why for me the backdoor of custom ROMs is a must. I'd never buy a phone where I can't do this.

But I know, the normal users view is different and for them it's a bummer.

 

[terse]

I'm kind of pleased I didn't go down the Huawei route now, although it probably sounds much worse than the news reports.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-48334739

That's not their only problem, either.

Editorial: After mocking Apple over 5G, Huawei has now lost nearly every technology supplier | AppleInsider

During the legal battle between Apple and Qualcomm that threatened to delay 5G-capable iPhones, Huawei mockingly announced to the media that it could supply Apple with its own 5G modems. But now the tables have turned: Qualcomm is established as an iPhone supplier while Huawei has to scramble to...

appleinsider.com

 

[ImageArt]

That's not their only problem, either.

Editorial: After mocking Apple over 5G, Huawei has now lost nearly every technology supplier | AppleInsider

During the legal battle between Apple and Qualcomm that threatened to delay 5G-capable iPhones, Huawei mockingly announced to the media that it could supply Apple with its own 5G modems. But now the tables have turned: Qualcomm is established as an iPhone supplier while Huawei has to scramble to...

appleinsider.com

Interesting. A confirmation that the Chinese are not world leaders in technology but world followers and borrowers.

 

[rizole]

The trouble seems to be accelerating for Huawei...

Huawei Executive Accused by U.S. Startup of Involvement in Trade-Secrets Theft

CNEX Labs, a chip startup backed by Microsoft and Dell, has accused a senior executive at Huawei Technologies of participating in a conspiracy to steal its trade secrets.

www.wsj.com

Huawei: ARM memo tells staff to stop working with China’s tech giant

Chinese company is dealt an "insurmountable" blow as chip designer says it must comply with US trade ban.

www.bbc.com

Panasonic scrutinises relationship with Huawei

US restrictions on Chinese telecoms giant Huawei are having a ripple effect across the tech industry.

www.bbc.com