Xiaomi has come a long way since the launch of its budget Redmi line back in 2013, and while the latter has since extended its coverage across a wider price range, it isn't about to abandon the budget market. Ahead of its 12th anniversary on April 6th, Xiaomi announced a new Redmi 10 5G which, starting from $199, happens to be the company's — and some markets' — cheapest 5G smartphone to date. To put things into perspective, the OnePlus Nord N200 5G costs $240, and Samsung's recently-launched Galaxy A13 5G is priced at $250.

The Redmi 10 5G — not to be confused with the 4G-only Redmi 10 or 10A — is powered by an octa-core MediaTek Dimensity 700 processor with dual 5G standby, and it runs on MIUI 13 based on Android 11. You get a reasonably-sized 6.58-inch 2,408 x 1,080 LCD with up to 90Hz refresh rate, along with a generous 5,000mAh battery which supports 18W fast charging (interestingly, the phone comes with a 22.5W charger), a side-mounted fingerprint sensor and a 3.5mm headphone jack. 

Xiaomi

There's not much going on in terms of design — just a plastic body with a grooved concentric circle texture and flat edges. Likewise with photography: just a 50-megapixel main camera paired with a 2-megapixel depth camera on the back, plus a 5-megapixel "dot drop" selfie camera above the screen.

As with all Xiaomi phones these days, the Redmi 10 5G won't be headed to the US, but a spokesperson confirmed that we can expect it to land in most of Xiaomi's global markets, including the UK, Europe, South East Asia, Middle East and more. You'll have two options: the $199 model comes with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage, whereas the $229 version bumps the storage up to 128GB. These will come in "Graphite Gray," "Chrome Silver" and "Aurora Green."

Xiaomi

Also announced for the international markets are the higher-end Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G and Redmi Note 11S 5G, both of which also pack a MediaTek processor (Dimensity 920 and Dimensity 810, respectively) with dual 5G standby, a side-mounted fingerprint reader, an IR blaster, a 3.5mm headphone jack and dual speakers (with JBL tuning on the Pro+).

The Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G has been available in China since October, and it's all about its 15-minute fast charging on its 4,500mAh dual-cell battery, thanks to Xiaomi's 120W HyperCharge tech. You also get a 6.67-inch 2,400 x 1,080 AMOLED screen, which delivers up to 120Hz refresh rate and up to 360Hz touch sampling rate for some slick scrolling, as well as a high brightness mode of up to 700 nits for outdoor usage. With its 108-megapixel main camera (Samsung HM2 sensor), 8-megapixel ultra-wide camera, 2-megapixel telemacro camera and 16-megapixel punch-hole selfie camera, you should be able to get some nice photos out of this device. Prices range from $369 (6GB + 128GB) to $449 (8GB + 256GB), and you can pick "Graphite Gray," "Star Blue" or "Forest Green."

Xiaomi

The marginally cheaper Redmi Note 11S 5G is a slight variant of China's earlier Redmi Note 11 5G, with the main difference being the extra 2-megapixel macro camera on the back. The rest appears to be identical: 6.6-inch 2,400 x 1,080 LCD (90Hz refresh rate, 240Hz touch sampling rate), 5,000mAh battery with 33W fast charging, 50-megapixel main camera, 8-megapixel ultra-wide camera and 13-megapixel punch-hole selfie camera. Prices range from $249 (4GB + 64GB) to $299 (6GB + 128GB), with color options including "Midnight Black," "Twilight Blue" and a sparkly "Star Blue."

Following last year's GoPro Hero 10 Black and DJI Action 2, it's finally Insta360's turn to bring out its latest action cam — along with a new 4K wide-angle lens to go with it.

The new Insta360 One RS is yet another modular action cam from the company, but this time featuring an upgraded processor to support onboard "FlowState Stabilization" (this used to be handled by the app, which takes time) as well as "Active HDR" video capture — one that is apparently powerful enough to handle action sports without ghosting issues. 

While the One RS looks almost identical to the older One R, the core's touch display has been given a slight facelift: you'll now see a marker for the "quick menu" and another for "instant zoom." Other less visible bonuses include improved WiFi connectivity (for faster file transfers and more stable live preview), as well as an additional mic (for crispier audio capture) and 21-percent more battery.

Insta360

The new "4K Boost Lens" features a larger 1/2-inch 48MP sensor. This can capture 4K 60 fps footage, "6K Widescreen Mode" (6,016 x 2,560) videos at 25/24fps or 1080p clips at up to 200fps. You can get this One RS "4K Edition" kit for $299.99. And if you already own a One R, you'll be pleased to know that this 4K Boost Lens is backwards compatible, pending firmware update. (Speaking of, the new battery base is also backwards compatible, though it won't fit in the old mounting bracket.)

Alternatively, you may also consider the "Twin Edition" kit which adds a 5.7K 360 lens (same specs as before, except for its lighter shade of gray), and this is asking for $549.99. Like before, with the 360 lens, you'll be able to capture spherical videos and photos, and export 2D content with the selfie stick rendered invisible.

If you want the absolute best wide-angle camera mod and don't need a 360 lens, there's a third option: you can bundle the One RS with the good old Leica 1-inch 5.3K lens mod. This also costs $549.99.

Insta360

Launching alongside the One RS is a new easy-release mounting bracket, which allows for quicker lens swapping, better heat dissipation and better mic wind-proofing. You'll also be needing this bracket to ensure that the entire camera is waterproof up to 16 feet (5 meters) deep; or you can get the dive case instead, should you need to go deeper.

While most OnePlus phones had been made available globally before "reaching" China, that wasn't the case with the OnePlus 10 Pro, which has so far been China-exclusive since its early January launch. That's about to change, as the company announced at MWC that its latest flagship phone will finally be headed to the US, Europe and India "by the end of March."

But what's more interesting is that OnePlus appears to have reversed its decision — at least for now — to share a unified OS with Oppo. In today's announcement, the company confirmed that "global OnePlus devices will continue to run OxygenOS," whereas their China counterparts will stick to ColorOS after their switch from HydrogenOS since last year's OnePlus 9 series. In the case of the global OnePlus 10 Pro, it will launch with OxygenOS 12.1 but will soon receive the OxygenOS 13 update. No word on the model after that, though, except for the fact that it'll launch with Oppo's upcoming 150W SuperVOOC fast charging some time in Q2 2022.

OnePlus stressed that both OxygenOS and ColorOS already share a "clean and lightweight" unified OS codebase, with the main differentiation being the "lighter" stock Android experience on the former to cater to global users. That said, the company acknowledged that some users weren't happy with OxygenOS 12, not to mention the OnePlus 9 rollout which was so buggy that it had to be temporarily suspended. OnePlus will have to prove itself worthy with OxygenOS 13.

Every now and then, a phone maker comes up with a new charging speed claim. The latest company to do so is Oppo, which unveiled its 150W SuperVOOC flash charge — a leap from the 80W version on the recently launched Find X5 Pro and OnePlus 10 Pro — at MWC. This will offer a mere 15-minute charge time for a 4,500mAh dual-cell battery, but a quick five-minute charge can already get you back up to 50 percent. If you like the sound of this, you may look forward to it on the next OnePlus flagship phone, which is due in Q2 2022. At the same conference, Oppo's sister brand Realme even announced that its upcoming GT Neo 3 will be the world's first phone to support 150W SuperVOOC, so chances are OnePlus' next phone will arrive after Realme's.

Oppo's 150W SuperVOOC is a tad faster than the current 120W offerings from the likes of Xiaomi and Vivo iQOO — ranging from 17 to 20 minutes, depending on the battery size. But it's not just about speed. This fast charge tech is supported by Oppo's "Battery Health Engine" (or "BHE" in short) which claims to double the battery lifespan, and this is already available on the recently launched Find X5 series. In a nutshell, "BHE" comprises of a dedicated battery management chip, smart battery health algorithm and some sort of battery healing tech — mainly by way of improving the cells' electrolyte formula. 

Oppo

According to Oppo, the industry standard for conventional flash charge is 800 charge cycles before reaching the 80-percent battery health deterioration threshold. With the "BHE" enhancements, however, the battery lifespan can be prolonged to 1,600 cycles — or as long as four years for a phone with daily recharging. The company added that "BHE" will be a standard feature for all flagships from Oppo and OnePlus (and likely Realme as well) moving forward, irregardless of their charging speeds.

It's also worth noting that this new 150W SuperVOOC charger is almost just as compact as its 65W counterpart. The latter has been bundled with most flagship and mid-range phones from Oppo, OnePlus and Realme over the past two years.

With Oppo setting a new benchmark in terms of both charging speed and battery lifespan, it'll be interesting to see how its competitors respond. Xiaomi had already demonstrated 200W fast charging which achieved an eight-minute charge time for a (smaller) 4,000mAh battery, but as we've seen on its latestflagships, it has yet to offer anything beyond 120W to its users. To stay further ahead of the game, Oppo will be showing off a "200W+" SuperVOOC demo at its MWC booth, so stay tuned for more details on this.

It was only a matter of time before someone other than Fairphone delivered a sustainability-themed smartphone (which is a good thing, of course). Realme, the sister brand of Oppo and OnePlus, announced that its upcoming flagship GT 2 Pro features an eco-friendly bio-polymer material on its back cover — apparently a first in the mobile industry. Better yet, Realme has once again collaborated with Muji and Infobar series design icon Naoto Fukasawa, who finished the GT 2 Pro's design with a textured paper feel on the body. They call this "Paper Tech Master Design."

Realme

This bio-polymer material, supplied by Saudi Arabia's SABIC, is based on paper pulp, and it has obtained International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (or ISCC in short) to prove its environmental friendliness. The Realme GT 2 Pro's packaging also uses much less plastic than its predecessor — from an overall plastic ratio of 21.7 percent down to a mere 0.3 percent.

The phone itself packs some surprises, too. For one, it's one of the first devices to be powered by Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset, following the Moto Edge X30. The GT 2 Pro is also the world's first smartphone with a 150-degree ultra-wide camera (most are at around 120 degrees), which offers a unique fisheye camera mode for some fun photography. 

There are also some noteworthy features on the radio side. In Realme's "Antenna Array Matrix System" here, there's the "world's first" ultra-wide-band antenna switching technology, which lets the phone switch to whichever of the 12 antennas has the best signal strength. In addition, this system consists of a symmetrical Wi-Fi antenna which apparently boosts signal stability by up to 20 percent. 

Realme

But the most interesting feature here is perhaps the "360-degree NFC," which is achieved by hooking up the NFC module to the top two cellular antennas as well as its own, thus forming an "NFC 3 antenna array." This allows the upper part of the GT 2 Pro to read NFC on either side, which should make the likes of contactless payment and Bluetooth pairing easier.

For now, the Realme GT 2 Pro is only slated for a China launch at 7:30PM local time (6:30AM ET) on January 4th, 2022, but a company spokesperson confirmed that it will eventually go overseas. Given the brand's track record, this device will likely be competitively priced, but we're just eager to check out Fukasawa's latest mobile design in person — especially the supposedly paper-like texture. Stay tuned for more technical specs, prices and our hands-on.

Samsung's three generations of foldable phones put it in a leading position in the field, so much that Huawei and Xiaomi eventually followed the same double-screen form factor. Having already shown a foldable prototype a couple of years ago, it was only a matter of time before Oppo, the world's fourth largest smartphone brand, would join the scene. After a teaser from earlier, today the Chinese company unveiled the Find N, which features a 5.49-inch external display and unfolds into a 7.1-inch flexible "Serene Display."

What's special about this design is that Oppo went for a landscape aspect ratio — 9:8.4 (1,920 x 1,792), to be exact — for the flexible AMOLED screen, which offers a more practical split-screen usage. A bit like Microsoft's Surface Duo 2, except this is across one single panel. Similarly, the Find N's external AMOLED screen comes in a more familiar 9:18 aspect ratio (988 x 1,972), as opposed to something like the narrow 9:24.5 on Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 3. The shorter body should also make the device more pocketable than its competitors.

Oppo

Oppo added that thanks to its special water-drop flexion hinge design, it's able to widen the angle of the flexible panel's fold, thus reducing the crease — "up to 80 percent less noticeable compared with other devices," which is apparently certified by TÜV Rheinland. The same mechanism allows for a no-gap design when folded. As for the flexible screen itself, its 12-layer structure apparently lets it withstand over 200,000 folds — even at temperatures as low as -20 degrees Celsius or -4 degrees Fahrenheit. Alas, there's no IP rating for the Find N, but Oppo reassures us that the device has passed the company's own humidity and splash tests.

To our surprise, the Find N is powered by Qualcomm's slightly older Snapdragon 888, as opposed to the upcoming Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 or the existing Snapdragon 888 Plus. Oppo explained that this is due to the longer development cycle of this project. To be fair, this 5G chipset is still plentiful, plus the phone also comes with up to 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM and up to 512GB of UFS 3.1 storage, along with ColorOS 12 based on Android 11, which should keep things running smoothly on that 120Hz flexible screen (though the external screen is capped at 60Hz).

Sanji Feng / Engadget Chinese

Other goodies in this 275g device include a 50-megapixel f/1.8 main camera (Sony IMX766 sensor; same as the Find X 3 Pro), a 16-megapixel (IMX481) f/2.2 ultra-wide camera plus a 13-megapixel (Samsung S5K3M5) f/2.4 2x telephoto camera on the back, and a 32-megapixel (IMX615) f/2.4 punch hole selfie camera on both the external screen and the inner screen. There's a 4,500mAh battery which supports 33W SuperVOOC rapid charging and 15W AirVOOC wireless charging; you can also use the phone for 10W reverse charging.

Unlike many recent flagship Androids, unlocking is done with a side-mounted fingerprint-scanning power button, rather than an under-display fingerprint reader, which makes sense since it'd be a bit ambitious to work that sensor into the large flexible screen.

Sanji Feng / Engadget Chinese

On the software side, this version of ColorOS 12 comes with a "FlexForm Mode" which lets you use the Find N in the form of a mini laptop. This applies to use cases like video calls, taking notes, taking 4K time-lapse photos of the sky and more. Likewise, you can use the external screen as a selfie viewfinder, though this is nothing new in the world of foldables.

Sanji Feng / Engadget Chinese

My favorite feature here is perhaps the split-screen gesture: simply use two fingers to swipe down the middle of the flexible screen, and you'll instantly split the screen into two. You can also tap the three dots in the middle of this virtual divider to create a shortcut for the current app combo. If needed, you can also use four fingers to pinch the large screen to turn the current app into a floating window. 

Last but not least, there's a "seamless relay" feature which lets you easily go from the large screen to the smaller external screen. As soon as you fold the Find N, the external screen will offer a five-second window to let you swipe up and activate it.

Sanji Feng / Engadget Chinese

The Find N comes in black, white and purple, with the purple offering being exclusive to its higher-end model. In China, this new phone is immediately available for pre-ordering ahead of its December 23rd launch, with the base model (8GB RAM and 256GB storage) asking for 7,699 yuan (about $1,210), and the higher-end model (12GB RAM and 512GB storage) going for 8,999 yuan (around $1,410). That's surprisingly affordable — even more so than Xiaomi's Mix Fold. 

Sadly, Oppo doesn't plan on bringing its first-ever foldable to outside of China just yet, but our review unit did just land on my doorstep a few hours ago. I'll be spending the next few days figuring out whether this device lives up to its hype (and whether I can even run Google services on it), so stay tuned for our further impressions.

There hasn't been much update on Google Glass since the wider availability of its Enterprise Edition 2 back in early 2020, but on the other side of the world, Oppo believes now is the time to launch a direct competitor — albeit in the China market only. Following last year's Oppo AR Glass concept, the Oppo Air Glass will become available to Chinese consumers in Q1 2022 for a yet-to-be-announced price. It'll come in two parts: a detachable monocle waveguide device (in black or white) and either a silver half frame or a black full frame. And no, you won't be able to attach this 30-gram device to your own glasses.

Much like Google Glass, Oppo Air Glass is designed to deliver simple information for use cases such as navigation, translation, teleprompter, calendar, weather, fitness tracking and more. Oppo calls this "assisted reality," which keeps the package portable yet practical and accessible. This is achieved using a power-efficient "Spark Micro Projector," which comes in at roughly the size of a single coffee bean, and it houses a Micro LED chip to project a bright 640 x 480 image onto a waveguide display — one that's larger than that of Google Glass.

Oppo

Oppo Air Glass is driven by a Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 4100, which is similar to the chip inside some of the latest Fossil smartwatches. Once paired with an Oppo phone (with ColorOS 11 or later) or smartwatch, you can toggle notifications by tapping the Air Glass' slim touch bar or simply by nodding your head, and then tap again or shake your head to close them. To switch between apps, simply swipe the touch bar.

Oppo

In the case of the teleprompter app, you can upload your speech, set your text size and scrolling speed via the smartphone app, and then tap the touch bar to scroll manually if needed. Oppo is also testing hand gesture tracking via the Oppo Watch for a supposedly more intuitive control here.

Oppo

If you happen to have two Oppo Air Glasses and are struggling to communicate with a foreigner, you can pair them up and get your partner to wear one for instant translation — your device will translate the other person's voice on your screen, and vice versa. However, only Chinese, English and Japanese are supported at the moment, with Korean to follow soon.

For the navigation app, Oppo worked with Baidu to integrate Baidu Walk & Bike Navigation as well as Explore Nearby. Don't expect any sophisticated AR graphics here; users will simply see step-by-step navigation based on one's location and orientation, and voice command is supported (presumably only in Chinese).

Oppo

An Oppo rep added that the Air Glass is the result of two previous designs, which allowed the company to work with developers to build up an ecosystem. In addition, the Chinese company will soon release a Smart Glass SDK to let more developers — potentially those from overseas as well — into the party.

Considering how other companies such as Meta, Bose, Amazon, Snap and Razer have been focusing on either audio- or camera-based smartglasses, Oppo's strategy with its Air Glass is certainly a bit of a surprise. For now, this is all rather experimental for Oppo, as the device will only be launched in China in a limited quantity, with each labelled with a unique edition number on its package.

Following OnePlus' integration into Oppo in June, co-founder Pete Lau — who has been appointed Chief Product Officer for both brands since May 2020 — is ready to share more on what to expect from his expanded team, aka "OnePlus 2.0." 

We already knew about the upcoming unified OS, which will apparently bring the best of both worlds — the smoothness and lightness (no ads!) of OnePlus' OxygenOS, combined with the reliability and smartness of Oppo's ColorOS. In a recent group interview, Lau added that this yet-to-be-named system will be based on Google's upcoming Android 13, and it'll be featured on OnePlus' 2022 flagship device — likely dubbed "OnePlus 10" — due out first half of the year. Some existing devices will also receive this update, though no specific models were mentioned. (Lau said the Nord 2 already features an early version of the integrated codebase, so there's a good chance that it'll get the full upgrade.)

Given that the shared OS would reduce differentiation between Lau's two brands, one might wonder which would more likely produce the "perfect" flagship smartphone? Never one to give a direct answer, Lau implied that he doesn't believe such a device would ever exist. He referred to an internal demographic map featuring 20 user categories, each of which tied to a combination of different needs — down to the level of product size, specific photography features, charging modes, weight and more. 

Lau's basic definition of OnePlus users is "tech enthusiasts," but he added that based on this mapping, it's still impossible to satisfy everyone's needs with a single device. As such, the exec thinks the market is big enough for his two brands to avoid friendly fire. For the same reason, OnePlus' Nord line will continue to co-exist with the Oppo Reno series (and Realme, for that matter), though the similarity of their designs is still questionable. (Lau insisted that each brand has a dedicated design team, even after the merger.)

OnePlus

Another area which OnePlus may benefit from the integration is photography. Lau pointed out that what used to be a camera team of around 100 people is now some 700, which may allow OnePlus to take better advantage of its relationship with Hasselblad, especially with their ongoing work on color science this year. The exec added that he can't say OnePlus currently has the best camera performance, but he's certain that it's "definitely" among the top in the industry.

Lau admitted that with his expanded role, even if he had 48-hour days, it'd still be impossible for him to personally pick on every single detail on every product like he did before (let's just say it'd be unlikely that he'd throw a fit over a minor design issue on a logic board, as he once famously did back in his Oppo Blu-ray player days). Instead, Lau had been spending a lot of time teaching his "never settle" philosophy to his new Oppo teammates over the past year or so, in the hopes of changing what used to be a leader-driven mission to true team work. It'll be a while before we get a real taste of this fruition, but Lau is "confident that this new unified OS won't disappoint."

The Vivo brand may not immediately ring a bell in the West, but its recent mobile photography ambitions are worth paying attention to. The company's latest flagship, the X70 Pro+, is the world's first smartphone to feature optical image stabilization (OIS) across all four of its rear cameras. Like the previous model, these all have Zeiss optics and Zeiss T* lens coating, but the main camera is further enhanced by an SLR-grade high-transmittance glass lens to reduce chromatic aberration.

Vivo

Vivo continues to offer one of the more versatile sets of cameras I've seen lately. The X70 Pro+ comes with a 48-megapixel f/2.2 ultra-wide camera, which is further stabilized by Vivo's now-signature micro gimbal; a 50-megapixel f/1.57 main camera powered by a large Samsung GN1 sensor (as featured on the X50 Pro+); a 12-megapixel f/1.6 portrait camera with the much newer Sony IMX663; and an 8-megapixel f/3.4 5x zoom periscopic camera. 

All four rear cameras support electronic stabilization for video shooting, and if you really want to, the main camera can film at up to 8K resolution. The X70 Pro+ also packs Vivo's very own "V1" AI imaging chip for better noise reduction in low-light video recording, as well as more efficient motion smoothing in video playback and gaming.

I don't usually spend much time in the camera filter section, but Vivo's selection of bokeh effects look fun, as they were apparently meant to mimic classic Zeiss lenses. The X60 series already introduced the "swirly" Biotar filter, and with the new X70 series, you also get the "anamorphic" Distagon, the "genuine" Planar and the "creamy" Sonnar. Apparently Zeiss took part in developing these bokeh effects, so that should speak for their faithfulness.

On the other side of the X70 Pro+, you get a 32-megapixel f/2.45 punch-hole selfie camera at the top of a 6.78-inch screen. This 3,200 x 1,400 AMOLED panel offers better colors (10-bit or 1 billion colors) and brightness than before, thanks to Samsung's latest E5 LTPO tech. It also delivers a refresh rate of up to 120Hz and a touch sampling rate of up to 300Hz, which should deliver some silky smooth scrolling and gaming.

Vivo

The Android 11-based X70 Pro+ comes with many other flagship elements, namely a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888+ processor, fast LPDDR5 RAM, IP68 dustproofing and waterproofing, stereo speakers and a dedicated Hi-Fi chip. There's even an infrared remote feature to let you control home appliances the old-fashioned way.

As for charging, the 4,500mAh battery here supports Vivo's 55W FlashCharge and 50W Wireless FlashCharge. The latter requires a special charging stand, which packs two coils to handle both portrait and landscape orientations. You can also use any Qi pad, with the trade-off being a slower charging rate, obviously. The phone itself does 10W reverse wireless charging, should you need to revive other phones, smartwatches or wireless earbuds.

Vivo

The X70 series includes two other models: the quad-cam X70 Pro and the tri-cam X70. Both models are powered by MediaTek's Dimensity 1200-vivo chipset, and their smaller 6.56-inch AMOLED screens (2,376 x 1,080, 120Hz) translate to smaller batteries as well. But hey, you still get an infrared remote on either model.

While the X70 Pro and X70 also receive the Zeiss treatment, they baked the micro gimbal into their main cameras (50 and 40 megapixels, respectively) instead of their 12-megapixel ultra-wide cameras. It's also worth mentioning that their 12-megapixel portrait cameras lack OIS. Given their missing V1 imaging chip, it'll be interesting to compare their low-light shots with the X70 Pro+.

Vivo

For what it's worth, the version of the X70 Pro sold in China will be powered by a Samsung Exynos 1080, and it also includes a V1 chip.

Outside of China, Vivo's X70 series will initially roll out in markets like India, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan and the United Arab Emirates, among others. There's no word on a European launch just yet, but Vivo might want to plan one soon to keep up with the likes of Oppo and Xiaomi. Meanwhile, stay tuned for our upcoming X70 Pro+ hands-on.

Never one to shy away from showing off its latest developments, Oppo is now teasing more upcoming mobile camera tech. The most interesting bit is perhaps the 5-axis optical image stabilization, which uses both lens shifting and sensor shifting for maximum effect — apparently three times the angle than that of conventional optical stabilization, according to Oppo. If true, this would compensate for greater shakiness, thus allowing for faster capture and better low-light performance, even when handheld.

Oppo

This kind of implementation is nothing new in the professional camera world, but the challenge here is to miniaturize the solution and fit everything into the little remaining space on a phone. The lens, driven by ball-bearing motors, serves as the primary stabilization tool for light vibrations. For bigger movements, both the lens and sensor kick in to achieve 5-axis stabilization, with the latter's shifting and rotation controlled by shape memory alloys.

Oppo

Oppo admits that incorporating extra moving parts means increasing the number of potential failure points, so it will continue to conduct various drop tests and reliability tests before beginning mass production. The company is targeting Q1 2022 to launch its first phone equipped with this feature.

Oppo

In addition to its 5-axis optical stabilization tech, Oppo teased its next-gen RGBW sensor, which the company claims can take in 60 percent more light and achieve a 35 percent reduction in noise. This will arrive in an unspecified Oppo phone sometime in Q4 of this year. The company is also working on an 85-200mm continuous optical zoom module to offer greater flexibility. It's unclear when exactly that might become commercially available.

Oppo isn't the only phone maker trying to further differentiate itself with obscure camera tech. To name a few, Vivo has been using its impressive micro gimbal camera since its X50 Pro last year, while ASUS is well into its third-gen flip camera on its aptly named Zenfone 8 Flip. Xiaomi even tried a shape-shifting "liquid lens" camera on its Mi Mix Fold, before picking up the latest-gen under-screen camera for its Mi Mix 4. And it now seems we'll see even more attempts in this arena in the coming months.