Smartphone Innovation: Seamless 1-9x Zoom Thanks to Novel Optical Construction?
[19:45 Tue,9.December 2025 by blip]
The Chinese smartphone manufacturer Tecno is probably only known to a few people in this country. The rather inexpensive devices are predominantly sold in so-called emerging markets, where few can afford an iPhone. It is all the more remarkable that Tecno is presenting a new camera concept that is supposed to realize a stepless, optical zoom of 1x to 9x despite its compact design.
TECNO Freeform Continuum Telephoto
So far, smartphones have used multiple camera modules, each with a different focal length, to achieve a zoom effect. Through clever interconnection, the zoom switches from one to the next, which usually results in perceptible jumps in image quality.
For a true zoom, conventional methods require shifting lens groups along the optical axis, which is already partially done in periscope constructions; this was first implemented in the Sony Xperia 1 IV. However, the price is a relatively small sensor (1/3.5") so that the system does not become too bulky. Tecno is now opting for a lens element that was patented by Luis W Alvarez about 60 years ago patents.google.com/patent/US3305294, but which, to our knowledge, is being built into a real existing camera lens and marketed for the first time here.
Alvarez Lens, Patent US3305294A
The special feature of the Alvarez lens is the fact that it achieves a zoom effect through lateral movement. For this purpose, it consists of two irregularly shaped elements calculated in a sophisticated way that interlock; when these are shifted relative to each other, the optical effect and thus the focal length change. As can be seen in the following video, it appears that two such Alvarez pairs are used. The lateral movement is only a few millimeters.
Overall, this should allow for the construction of a very compact camera system that could theoretically replace the multiple camera modules previously required. However, it is currently still under development and is expected to be ready for the market in about a year at the earliest. Production will then be taken over by Samsung, among others - so if everything works as planned, the Alvarez-based zoom might also be found in Galaxy phones.
Incidentally, Tecno is also announcing a second lens innovation. The principle of a mirror lens is to be adapted for mobile cameras. Through a doubly deflected light path, space is primarily saved here as well, but light intensity is lost and the bokeh also changes and becomes ring-shaped.
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