Unmatched with the code lines of Google and Apple, Chinese smartphones revived the “dot” race from the previous decade

Remember when movies were replaced by digital photos, tech-savvy people would just pick their cameras over “dots”? Nearly two decades later, Chinese smartphone companies want to launch this “low tech” race here.

When digital photos replaced film images in the early 2000s, the number of megapixels on cameras also became the most controversial “dots” in the field of photography. Camera manufacturers were then forced to choose a number that represented the quality of their photographs, and they chose “dots” because they simply changed and were easier to understand than any other number. . On the other hand, those who really understand the image will understand that Megapixel is a part – the lens specs and sensor size probably even more determine the image quality than the number of dots.

Then, digital cameras were gradually replaced. In 2007, Steve Jobs unveiled the iPhone screen, opening the “modern smartphone” revolution – intuitive hi-tech devices with all sorts of features, including the Internet and photography. Under pressure from both smartphones and social networks, the point-and-shoot camera market is almost extinct, even professional DSLRs after a few years of development have sunk into a constant recession. As a device that is carried by users almost anywhere, smartphones have also become the most popular cameras.

Primitive digital images: buy cameras that only care about “dots” …

In 2019, this type of camera begins to witness a special trend: “dots” are revived. At the beginning of the year, the cheap smartphone king Xiaomi showed off the Redmi Note 7 with a 48MP camera. This resolution continued to be used for the top-of-the-line Mi 9 model, and by the end of the year Xiaomi was shocked by Mi Mix Alpha with a 108MP sensor. Even cheap CC models are equipped with 32MP front camera and 48MP rear camera.

Other rivals in China did not sit still and wait. On the top of the Reno table, OPPO uses a 48MP sensor. The mid-range OPPO K5 comes with a 64MP rear camera, which is on par with the resolution on the X2 model of its subsidiary Realme. Two brands of the same BKK family, OnePlus and Vivo also participate in the race of “dots”: OnePlus 7 Pro uses 48MP sensor, Vivo Nex 3 has 64MP sensor.

Having dominated the DxOMark rankings with “scores” below 20MP, this year Huawei also moved to the 40MP mark for both the P30 and Mate 30. Huawei’s Honor sub-brand in early October was also certified for the Note 10 with 64MP camera.

Ten years later, someone still showed me some dots …

But in the end, what will the dreadful smartphone numbers bring? According to actual testing, sometimes all that users get is an advertising trick. For example, the Redmi Note 7 comes with the same chip that doesn’t support 48MP resolution. To reach this number, Xiaomi uses interpolation – the user doesn’t get any further details.

Equally controversial is the Mi 9: although the Mi 9’s chip supports 48MP, high-resolution photos do not bring any improvement compared to 12MP. According to the evaluation of GSM Arena , “The amount of detail collected is nothing special, the image is smooth and lots of noise, and while the dynamic range remains (as when shooting 12MP), the image size has been increased immeasurably. useful. We have taken a few 48MP models, and you can easily see why you should not use this option. ”

What about Huawei and OnePlus? In the low-light test, Android Authority said that both OnePlus 7T and Huawei P30 Pro are inferior to Pixel 4 and iPhone 11 in terms of detail. The Pixel 4 only uses dual 16MP and 12MP cameras, while the iPhone 11 Pro has only 12MP on all three sensors. Faced with the number “dots” of Chinese rivals, Apple and Google should have lost rather than such a brittle victory.

Actual test Mi 9 : 48MP photos are worse than 12MP photos on the same device….

Worst of all, high resolution also brings disadvantages. Taking the P30 Pro for street photography, The Next Web ‘s reviewer Mixtatic complained: “During my use of the P30 Pro, I missed quite a lot of beautiful pictures. Before shooting, I had to ‘predict’ what the subject would do, rather than ‘capture the moment’ with the camera. The P30 Pro makes it take longer to take a good picture, and I just want to give up at the same time! ”. High-resolution smartphones make smartphones take more time to process – and users pay the “moment”, the most important element of every photo.

With Xiaomi’s low-end smartphone or Realmi, high-resolution photos will be even more harmful. For example, GSMArena ‘s Mi 9T (Redmi K20) test showed that ” saving 48MP photos is a slow and expensive task – each image takes up to 30MB “. The chip used on Mi 9T is Snapdragon 730G; Lower-end smartphones certainly cost more.

High resolution for a photo will ruin the “soul” of the photo: lose the moment because the shot is too slow.

It’s hard to believe, but Chinese manufacturers are replicating the story of two decades ago, from the time digital cameras began to become popular. They are creating a pointless race of dots, which not only does not improve the image quality but also misses the moment, causing useless capacity.

But perhaps they have no choice. In this segment, Apple and Google are conducting a “race of computer photography ” full of myth. The details in the image depend not only on the size or number of dots, but also on the lines of code. There is a “good” algorithm, Pixel or iPhone can combine many moments into one, really increase the amount of detail and image quality in general.

As for Huawei or Xiaomi, there is no algorithm at that level … To create a sense of detail for users, they have to show dozens of MP.

Source : GenK