Xiaomi, one of the leading global smartphone manufacturers, has launched a new technology that will be found in the next Mi Mix device: a liquid lens. It is the first of its kind on a smartphone and can apparently change focus and focal length just by changing the shape of the liquid element.
DPReview reports that, according to some sources, liquid lenses will allow the manufacturer to replace the common multi-camera arrays found on virtually all smartphones with a single camera, thanks to its ability to change the focus point and focal length more easily through this liquid element.
The concept of liquid lenses is not new, but it is not something that has already been integrated into a consumer smartphone. According to Edmund Optics, a liquid lens can overcome the limitations of depth of field, allowing the focus to be adjusted electronically without any mechanical movement. Typical ways of adjusting the focus points (moving motorized elements or changing the f-numbers to increase the depth of field) can be replaced without compromising image quality or requiring larger lenses.
Xiaomi’s mysterious MIX phone will use liquid lenses for the first time in the world pic.twitter.com/73ob6uBsyn
– Ice universe (@UniverseIce) March 25, 2021
Liquid lenses can be found in some industrial applications where the traditional optics of moving parts would wear out very quickly.
“Like traditional optical lenses made of glass, liquid lenses are unique optical elements, but they are composed of an optical liquid material that can change its shape,” explains Edmond Optics. “The focal length of a glass lens depends on the material of which it is made and its radius of curvature. The same basic principle applies to liquid lenses, although liquid lenses are unique because their focal length can be changed by changing the radius of curvature. This change in radius is controlled electronically and quickly changed in the order of milliseconds. Manufacturers use electrowetting, shape-shifting polymers and aco-optical adjustment methods to control the radius of curvature of the liquid lens and the refractive index. “
Xiaomi has a very good reputation when it comes to smartphone camera hardware, but as with the Mi 11, the software can contain it. Hopefully, the implementation of liquid lenses in a Mi Mix phone can fill that gap a little better.
According The Verge, using cutting-edge technology is the perfect fit for the Mi Mix line. Mi Mix 3 in 2018 was the first to offer a mechanically sliding selfie camera, while Mi Mix Alpha the following year had a screen that enveloped almost the entire device. In this company, a liquid lens camera fits perfectly.