LG’s smartphone-making days may be over, but LG Innotek — a major player in mobile camera modules — is alive and well. A new telephoto zoom camera module will be unveiled at CES 2023 that offers true, continuous optical zoom. The company is working with Qualcomm to accelerate the rollout of its new technology alongside the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 in upcoming flagship Android phones.
While most other long smartphone cameras use image quality-sapping digital zoom to go beyond their native focal length, LG’s design uses moveable lenses – much like a traditional DSLR camera lens – which preserves image detail. This camera module also uses a folded optics design, also known as a periscope lens, which keeps the overall size small. The result is a lens that covers a 4x to 9x range, with true optical zoom in between.
This new design from LG also includes optical stabilization, which is a must if you’re trying to capture images at 200mm. The module uses a tiny, extremely precise actuator to move lens elements to zoom; The company says it can move in increments of 1 μm. LG also notes that its design would allow phone makers to fit fewer lenses overall on the back of their devices. Instead of integrating a 4x and a 9x lens, this design combines the two to take up less space and reduce power consumption.
LG Innotek is not making a small thing about its new technology: its press release states that the camera module will help the company “consolidate the global No. 1 position in the smartphone camera module market”. It’s already in a strong position, thanks in large part to its biggest customer: Apple. The iPhone 15 is rumored to include a telephoto lens with folded optics, and while that particular model is unlikely to be included, LG seems keen to bring its camera tech to a wide range of 2023 flagship phones.
