Camera phones have now become the need of everyone, especially for those people who are fond of clicking selfies and love to travel to different places as a tourist. It is difficult to predict how the camera phone will evolve further but when it comes to technology, it is the most fascinating aspect which is continuously changing. Here in this post, we will see what can be the future of smartphone cameras in 2022.
The future of smartphone cameras in 2022 is Photography and the one reason behind it is Tourism. While going anywhere, you carry your smartphone to click photos. The smartphone image quality and innovative technology are advancing at a faster pace than compact cameras and DSLRs.
It is very clear that there will always be a place for DSLR cameras, especially among professionals who need various lenses to shoot images but the future of smartphone cameras is bright with the ever-growing market share.
Let’s look at the expected features of smartphone cameras that can be seen by the end of 2022.
In-Display Camera
The concept of an in-display camera in smartphones is very trending all over the web. The technology quicked up the pace when OPPO demonstrated it at the Mobile World Congress in 2019 but a Chinese company ZTE took advantage of this technology first and launched its first commercially available smartphone with an in-display camera “ZTE Axon 20 5G” in 2020. It was a smartphone with a 32 MP camera without a notch or punch hole.
The in-display camera technology will allow the manufacturer to experiment with different placement of cameras. For example, the manufacturer can hide the camera at the center of the screen so the user can make direct eye contact with it.
We can expect smartphone Cameras in 2022 with this technology, this will give smartphones a premium and clean look with a perfect glass slab.
ProRes features & Cinematic mode in Android
ProRes feature enables the users real time edition while delivering professional image quality. On the other hand, the cinematic mode works by capturing a depth map of the video including the foreground, midground, and background of the scene. The video looks like it’s being filmed with a professional camera.
At present, these features are available only in iPhone 13 Pro or iPhone 13 Pro Max. However Huawei and Samsung have offered this feature in their past model but Apple Inc. took this feature to the next level by including autofocusing on a subject, tracking the subject, and much more in an iPhone.
Some Android Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) are trying to implement Apple’s cinematic mode and will introduce smartphone cameras in 2022 with this technology by the end year. But all these are possibilities, we may see smartphones of some android brands in the near future. It would be really interesting to experience ProRes features & cinematic mode in the coming mobile phones on the Android operating system.
Note: ProRes with Cinematic mode don’t work in slo-mo, or time-lapse videos.
Rgbw Cameras Again
Smartphone camera with RGBW (Red, Green, Blue, White) can be seen as the next major change in the smartphone camera 2022. It will provide improved light sensitivity and better performance in places where lights are low.
Leading giants like Sony, Vivo, Oppo, Huawei have already introduced this technology in their smartphones. This technology is expected to come back by the end of 2022 which will increase the light input of the CMOS sensor for creating ultra clear details without affecting contrast in dark and backlit backgrounds.
In February 2022, this technology was introduced in Samsung Galaxy S22 series with 50 megapixels Rear camera lens. Now it is expected to experience this camera technology in the other brands by the end of 2022.
Optical Image Stabilization
Stable video shoot has been a much demanded feature in the smartphone camera. To cope up with the situation, mobile brands have started introducing their smartphone cameras with Optical image stabilization. This feature enables the user to take a stable shoot using sensors in the lens to detect body movement of the camera. As soon as the sensors sense the movement, they ensure that the optical elements move in the camera or the lens.
Although large shocks are not absorbed by the optical sensors, we hope we can experience better stabilization in the trending smartphone cameras in 2022.
Variable Telephoto Lens
The variable telephoto lens technology ensures to capture all the beauty and details of the image across the entire focal range. Using this technology, Sony has introduced its two variants Xperia 1 III and Xperia 5 III and have taken mobile cameras to the next level. The users with these two models can experience the instant shift from 70mm to 105mm lenses.
It needs to be understood that it is not a zoom but a step forward feature to it. The variable telephoto lens works well in the situation when speed is a necessity. This feature allows the users to take a shot upto 20 fps (frames per second) with a highly optimized and accurate focus.
We hope other brands like Oppo and Vivo will be using this technology with more improved functionalities.
Better 8K video
Xiaomi is the whistle bowler of the mobile industry which has introduced the world’s first smartphone capable of capturing 8K HDR footage. Xiaomi has achieved it by using the Snapdragon 8th generation processor in its Xiaomi series 12.
When we talk about the future of smartphone cameras in 2022, the Xiaomi 12 series will be competing with iPhone 14 which is rumoured that it will be focused on 8K imagery. If this becomes the reality by the end of 2022 or 2023, it is also rumour that iPhone 14 camera may come with 8k HDR ProRes feature. If this happens, creating high resolution imagery will become so handy.
Custom Imaging Chips
Photography will be the biggest differentiator in the Smartphone Cameras 2022 market. Chinese brands Vivo and Xiaomi have already introduced their smartphone with the robust and gimmicky photography packages based on in house image signal processing (ISP).
The custom ISP technology feature was introduced with an aim to boost the photography experience by improving image quality. Well, this was not the first time that we have seen companies focusing on custom imaging chips. We have seen Google’s pixel with custom hardware on the same journey.
With Pixel 6 series, Google used the updated hardware in this area and it won’t surprise us to see the other brands in this battle ground keeping this smartphone camera 2022 trend going on.
Magic Tool With Improvised Features
Using a Magic eraser in smartphone cameras can delete the distractions in your photos. If you own Pixel 6, there is a tool called Magic Eraser that gives you the power to delete the unwanted items or objects without compromising the background and leaving a blur effect.
Competing with Google in the smartphone camera 2022 industry will encourage other brands like Xiaomi, Vivo, and OnePlus to implement this Magic tool in their smartphone models in 2022. It would be interesting to see the more added features with this tool by the end of 2022.
Final thoughts
In the present era, who will say no to Smartphones with amazing camera effects. As people are becoming mature with capturing the moment and video blogging (vlogging), companies are creating smartphones with improved camera quality.
The above mentioned predictions for smartphone cameras in 2022 are genuinely thrilling to the photographers and photo lovers but it may be just a trailer, the real movie is still to be released.
After estimating the coming features, the future of smartphone cameras in 2022 is very bright and the industry will witness some fascinating evolution in the technology.
If you have any such predictions then let us know in the comments box below.
