Recognition: David Imel / Android Authority
- A new leak suggests that the OnePlus 9 series doesn’t include a periscope camera.
- It’s also unclear whether the phone line even has a zoom camera.
OnePlus is better known for its well-rounded, affordable flagships than for its camera-only performance. Well, according to the tipster Max JamborThe OnePlus 9 series may not have one of the hottest features in smartphone photography – a periscope zoom camera.
It could be a big blow for fans of pocket zoom photography. Even when using a traditional zoom lens, the OnePlus 9 series may not offer as impressive a range as devices like Huawei, Samsung, and Oppo. The Galaxy S21 Ultra offers a high-quality long-range zoom thanks to its newly designed camera array with 3x telephoto and 10x periscope cameras. It’s highly unlikely that the OnePlus 9 will come close to this without periscope technology.
While Jambor does not rule out the existence of a conventional zoom lens, there is a possibility that OnePlus will override this feature on the standard model as well. The OnePlus 8T has replaced the 3x Tele-Snapper of the OnePlus 8 Pro with a 5MP macro shooter. Initial camera leaks indicated two 48-megapixel camera sensors on the OnePlus 9, with a third sensor possibly having monochrome or macroeconomic properties. However, we suspect the OnePlus 9 Pro might keep a telephoto camera if it looks similar to last year’s model.
Despite the lack of a periscope lens, it is possible that OnePlus is pouring its resources into its primary and wide-angle cameras for the OnePlus 9.
Pete Lau, Co-Founder and CEO of OnePlus, recently announced that the company will be investing heavily in camera hardware to improve its imaging performance. Lau also admitted that he would like OnePlus to topple the competition to land on camera cards in 2021. It remains to be seen whether this will be possible for the OnePlus 9 series without a periscope camera.