After making its way back in the smartphone by launching three new Android-based devices, HMD Global has now announced that it has exclusively partnered with the famous camera lens firm ZEISS. The Finnish brand, which was awarded a license to use Nokia’s branding for smartphones, hasn’t announced a time frame for launching smartphones with ZEISS lenses yet. However, the move seems to be focussed on positioning its future smartphones as high-end camera devices.
Arto Nummela, CEO, HMD Global, said, “Collaborating with ZEISS is an important part of our commitment to always deliver the very best experience for our customers. Our fans want more than a great smartphone camera, they want a complete imaging experience that doesn’t just set the standard but redefines it. Our fans expect it and, together with ZEISS, we’re delivering it – co-developed imaging excellence for all.”
Nokia used to feature Carl ZEISS lenses for its smartphones cameras for years a decade ago. If you can remember, devices like the Symbian-based Nokia N95, MeeGo-based Nokia N9, and recently, the Windows Phone-based Nokia Lumia 1020, all these smartphones used larger camera sensors and Carl ZIESS lenses compared to other smartphones at that point in time. Now, the company wants to make Android-based smartphones with good quality cameras, equipped with ZEISS lenses.
Dr. Matthias Metz, Member of the Executive Board of ZEISS Group, said, “The collaboration of HMD Global with ZEISS for Nokia smartphones will again enhance consumers’ holistic imaging experience based on excellence and innovation. Our partnership is built on a solid foundation. Together, we look forward to an exciting journey into the future of sophisticated smartphone imaging.”
The company’s costliest current-generation smartphone, the Nokia 6, is still a mid-range device with a 16-megapixel camera and small 1.0µm pixels. However, the company has promised a premium smartphone. As per the recent reports, the Nokia 8 would be the company’s highest-end smartphone, and it could feature a Snapdragon 835 processor, iris scanner, and a high-end camera with ZIESS optics and 4K video recording.
Right now, Apple, HTC, and Samsung are at the top when it comes to smartphones cameras, and it remains to be seen how well Nokia does with its upcoming phones since it’s not comprised of the same engineers that made the excellent cameras for devices like the Nokia 808 and the Nokia Lumia 1020. The company’s photography expert was hired by Apple three years ago. We also have to understand that lenses alone cannot make great cameras. The sensor, autofocus mechanism, and the ISP need to gel well with each other for high-quality stills and videos.
[Source: HMD Global]
