Huawei patents a smartphone design that comes with an attachable zoom lens

Going by a patent filed by the company, it looks like Huawei has bigger plans for the smartphone camera market, particularly smartphone zoom technology.

The Huawei P40 Pro Plus is the only smartphone in the market right now that offers 10x optical zoom using a periscope lens. The new patent filed at European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) by the company involves a design for an unique zoom camera smartphone. (Huawei)

Huawei smartphones have some of the best cameras thanks to its partnership with Leica. The optical zoom on the P40 Pro is still one of the best ones in the market and the smartphone is on the top of the DxOMark Camera chart. 

Going by a patent filed by the company, it looks like Huawei has bigger plans for the smartphone camera market, particularly smartphone zoom technology.

The Huawei P40 Pro Plus is the only smartphone in the market right now that offers 10x optical zoom using a periscope lens. The new patent filed at European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) by the company involves a design for an unique zoom camera smartphone.

A periscope lens offers optical zoom by using less space than the conventional zoom system. However, it still falls behind on traditional zoom tech that comes with larger sensors and lenses.

Huawei plans to fix this by adding support for attachable lenses for smartphone cameras just like it is with regular cameras. The design in the patent has a triple camera on the back with two small sensors and an elongated flash module. The larger sensor appears to be the one meant for the detachable lenses.

The design in the patent has a triple camera on the back with two small sensors and an elongated flash module. The larger sensor appears to be the one meant for the detachable lenses. (GizmoChina)

The design in the patent has a triple camera on the back with two small sensors and an elongated flash module. The larger sensor appears to be the one meant for the detachable lenses. (GizmoChina)

The design showcased has the phone in black with a textured rear panel for grip. There is also USB Type-C support, volume rockers and the power button.

The design of the phone is showcased in black color with a textured rear. (GizmoChina)

The design of the phone is showcased in black color with a textured rear. (GizmoChina)

Further, the design of the phone is showcased in black color with a textured rear.

If and when Huawei rolls this smartphone with detachable lenses out it is not going to be the first company to have done so in the smartphone market. Motorola has already tried it out with the Moto Mod.