HTC has been taking a lot of flak for the cameras they’ve been sticking on their flagship devices. The HTC UltraPixel sensor from yesteryear is sufficient for most ordinary needs, though there is an eventual ceiling in terms of quality up against sensors inside phones like the iPhone 5S or the Samsung Galaxy S5.
But they could be looking to change that next year. Vodafone informant Symon Whitehorn apparently let slip that HTC is closest to the advances the mobile industry needs for smartphones to be able to outdo high-end point-and-shoot cameras, and even approach DSLR-like capabilities.
He said in order for any of that to happen we’d need to see some form of optical zoom, noting that we should be on the lookout for something from HTC within the next 12-18 months.
Not lost on us is the fact that there are phones with optical zoom lenses out there, such as the Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom and the upcoming Samsung Galaxy K. The difference is those phones add quite a bit of girth to add those capabilities — we imagine Vodafone’s insight into HTC’s plans hint toward that being possible in a more traditional, slim form factor.
Either way, it’s something HTC’s going to have to do if they want to change the public opinion that has grown about their imaging capabilities with the apparent lack of a vertical jump in their latest offering.
[via Vodafone]