Smartphone manufacturers are making major strides in camera technology, but with the desire to make phones thin they are missing out on an important element. For photos in restaurants and low-light environments there is nothing that can beat a xenon flash, but we haven't seen these on modern operating systems yet. However, The Verge reported that the Nokia Lumia 928 will launch in April with an aluminum body and xenon flash.

I know a couple of other phones came with xenon flash, but Nokia led in this area with devices like the Nokia N82, Nokia N8, and Nokia 808 . Lately we have seen a focus on low-light photography with the Nokia Lumia 920 and now the HTC One promoting this capability.

Low-light photography offers up an interesting element with a more natural capture of environments; however, I still prefer the way that a xenon flash lights up the environment and lets me see everyone in the shot. The challenge has been trying to get xenon flash into a slim form factor, and it sounds like Nokia may have that in the rumored Lumia 928.

AT&T has had the exclusive in the US on the Lumia 920, but it sounds like Verizon gets the better device now with xenon flash and a metal body. There should also be a LED flash, which is handy for usage as a flashlight on your phone. I wasn't thinking much about any new Verizon device, but I really do like my Lumia 920 and adding the xenon flash to it is excellent.

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