This phone can be paired with your existing camera lenses
What's the story
Realme has unveiled its Interchangeable Lens Concept phone at the Mobile World Congress (MWC).
The device comes with a one-inch Sony CMOS camera sensor that can be paired with existing LEICA camera lenses.
Along with this innovative concept, the company also offers two standard smartphone cameras (main and ultrawide) on the phone, giving users the option to either use full-sized camera lenses or traditional smartphone cameras.
Design
Device boasts unique camera features
The Realme Interchangeable Lens Concept phone will be able to take DSLR camera lenses, particularly those with LEICA's M mount.
The company has demonstrated two particular lenses for the device - a 73mm (~3x) portrait lens and a 234mm (~10x) telephoto lens.
The main and ultra-wide rear cameras remain essential as the one-inch sensor can't work without a camera lens attached.
Specifications
Combining camera and smartphone technology
The camera hump of the Realme Interchangeable Lens Concept phone, including the one-inch sensor, is covered with glass.
This design element removes the hassle of carrying a lens cap when a lens module has been removed.
The device runs on Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, which was used in many flagship Android phones back in 2023.
Usability
Phone will face practical challenges
Despite its innovative design, the Realme Interchangeable Lens Concept phone could be practically challenging.
The weight of the lens could make the phone awkwardly weighted, making one-handed shots difficult.
Plus, the device doesn't have a conventional telephoto camera due to space constraints for the exposed one-inch sensor. Meaning, you'd have to rely on digital zoom if you don't want to use the bulky camera lens module.
Performance
Performance and market prospects
While the indoor setting of the unveiling event wasn't ideal for photography, Android Authority confirms that the device works as it should.
However, do note that this concept phone is still in development stages and may not hit the market anytime soon.
Still, it's good to see companies like Realme exploring diverse approaches to smartphone photography.
Separately, Xiaomi unveiled the Xiaomi 15 Concept, with standalone cameras and a lens system that magnetically attaches to the back of the device.