Credit: Fergus Halliday | IDG

Ahead of this year's Mobile World Congress, Oppo has shown off new smartphone camera hardware that's capable of 10x lossless zoom.



Speaking at Oppo's European Innovation Event in Barcelona, Managing Director for OPPO Australia Michael Tran said that "with 10x lossless zoom, our mission was to develop a camera technology that would bring customers closer and let them capture content in a way that no other smartphone manufacturer has to date. We believe we’ve achieved that."



Oppo teased a smartphone camera with 5x optical zoom in early 2017. Then, last month, the company announced it had developed the technology further into a new triple-lens solution that was able to offer 10x lossless zoom. This new configuration combined a Ultra Wide Angle, Ultra Clear Master and Telephoto lens in a unique periscope arrangement, allowing it to surpass the zoom capabilities of even the current champion: Huawei's Mate 20 Pro.



Oppo's 10x camera configuration also boasts dual optical image stablisation akin to that found in the Galaxy Note and Galaxy S10.



Credit: Oppo 1x zoom sample

Credit: Oppo 10x zoom sample

It's unclear at this time whether Oppo plan to keep this technology to themselves or license it out to third parties.



The 5x lossless zoom camera tech the company showed at MWC 2017 never made it to market. Oppo's 10x zoom camera looks set to succeed where its predecessor failed, with Oppo product manager Chuck Wang confirming that the company will launch a device in the Q2 of 2019 featuring the technology.



What does this mean to consumers? Though Oppo's MWC technology showcase doesn't coincide with any sort of solid info about the devices they'll be bringing to market later this year, it does set them up for a strong year. When Oppo's 10x zoom smartphone arrives, it could well see them close the gap between rivals like Google, Samsung and Huawei in a meaningful way. Oppo's implementation of 10x zoom camera configuration is impressive in its own right but the real value of today's announcement is in how it expands the possibilities for what their future device could offer.



Credit: Oppo

Disclosure - PC World Australia's coverage of this year's MWC in Barcelona was sponsored by Oppo who covered the costs of our flights and accommodation.



