The Xiaomi 16 Ultra might offer something truly exceptional in terms of photography

That's the Xiaomi 15 Ultra for reference. | Image by PhoneArena

Back in the days when I used a dedicated camera for casual snapshots, I used to zoom non-stop between focal lengths: with phones, it's not quite the same experience.

That could change as soon as the Xiaomi 16 Ultra materializes. That's the rumored flagship that could, if the stars align, bring along something that many photographers would love: continuous optical zoom.

So, if you happen to photograph something that's too far away for your 3x snapper – but too close for your, say, 5x secondary zoom – you could get away with capturing the shot at 3,5x or 4,1x without substantial image quality loss.



The leak suggests that Xiaomi reduces quality loss during zoom by using a single CMOS sensor shared between two optical zoom ranges. This setup enables smoother transitions when zooming in or out without compromising image clarity.



It would be great if Xiaomi pulls this off. Currently, I very rarely shoot at anything between 3x and 6x (the two dedicated periscope cameras on my Oppo Find X7 Ultra). It's not that I don't trust my 3x camera at 4,5x (that's well into digital zoom territory), but it's just faster to shoot at either 3x or 6x. If there's a need to crop something, I can do that later, after I've captured my shot.

In contrast, I rarely crop in pictures that I took with my 6x camera. I zoom within my camera app before I press the shutter button, and I let the handset do its post-processing magic for shots at 10x and above. Although I tend to shoot at 10x rarely, truth to be spoken.

With continuous optical zoom, that whole decision-making process could feel more natural – more like using a real camera. Instead of jumping between fixed zoom levels or relying on digital trickery, the lens would smoothly adapt to whatever framing I want.

I wouldn't need to think in strict steps like 3x or 6x; a pinch to zoom and shoot will be enough, knowing the optics are actually moving to support that framing. If Xiaomi pulls it off properly, it could be a quiet revolution and I'm looking forward to this one.

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