Mobile cameras are crazy big. Samsung just found a solution

If I had to change a common element in high-end mobile phones, it would be very clear: the camera module. Over the years we have improved the quality and quantity of sensors, but the price we have to pay has been high.

The modules are becoming increasingly disproportionate, and it seemed difficult to find a balance between photographic quality and a not-so-disproportionate aesthetic. Samsung, one of the leading suppliers of telephoto lenses and sensors, has come up with a solution.

The company explains that until now, manufacturers have used a folding design in which the diameter of the lenses and sensor determined the height of the camera module. In other words, the higher the sensor and lens, the higher the module would be.

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A new distribution that changes everything

Traditional folding telephoto lenses placed the lenses vertically, causing them to protrude from the phone’s body. This was part of the standard design as light was directed through a prism onto the sensor and the lenses had to follow this optical alignment to maintain image quality.

To solve this problem, Samsung created a technology called ALoP (All Lens on Prism). This uses a new design that places the lenses horizontally rather than vertically like current solutions, allowing the elements to sit flat on the camera module.

ALoP technology changes the location: the lenses are now placed horizontally on a prism, in line with the phone body. This upgrade allows the lenses to be larger in diameter to capture more light (leading to brighter images) without increasing the thickness of the camera module.

Samsung hasn’t provided details on specific models, but next-generation models are expected to start including telephoto lenses that use this new distribution.

Image | Hataka