They say the smartphone destroyed the digital camera. It is wrong. Like Neo in The Matrix, the camera has essentially dematerialized to attack its oppressor from within. Result: In 2024, the phone will be little more than a networked digital camera.
You just have to look at the presentation of the new phones and calculate the time spent describing their main features to make it happen. Last month, Samsung and OnePlus introduced their latest models. Samsung offers the Galaxy S24 in three versions, which differ primarily in the size of the screen and the battery as well as the number of lenses of the respective digital camera.
OnePlus 12 and 12R
Taking things a step further, OnePlus introduced two phones in early February, the OnePlus 12 and 12R, which represent something of a return to basics for the Chinese brand. Before OnePlus became a full-fledged brand of Chinese company Oppo, it had its heyday marketing some of the most powerful Android-based smartphones, but sold at a fraction of the price of the most popular models – like Samsung's.
Like its competitors, the OnePlus brand has also been gentrified. The company ended up selling its high-end Android phones, which featured the latest Qualcomm processors, the latest display technologies, and a state-of-the-art camera, for the price of… a high-end phone.
The OnePlus 12 takes this approach. Its 6.82-inch diagonal screen reaches a peak brightness of 4,500 nits, more than twice the brightness of the Apple iPhone 15's screen. It is powered by Qualcomm's latest processor called Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Mobile Platform. Its 5400 milliamperes/hour battery is one of the largest to power a phone.
Its Sony sensor digital camera is entitled to a periscopic telephoto lens, like the iPhone 15 Pro Max, like the Galaxy S Ultra of the last three years and like Google's latest Pixel 8 Pro. Mirrors allow this lens to be positioned vertically to extend the focal length, creating a magnifying effect, the famous “optical zoom,” in relation to the camera's main lens. Its focal length is 70mm, compared to 23mm for the main lens and 14mm for the third lens (a wide-angle lens).
To make things more attractive and because the OnePlus brand is not synonymous with photography in the public eye, we asked the Swedish company Hasselblad, known for its own cameras, to put its logo on the phone.
This camera from Hasselblad is one of the best on a phone heading into 2024. It's also the biggest difference between the OnePlus 12 and the 12R. This second novelty is a budget version of the same model, constructed with slightly less demanding components. His camera does not have a telephoto lens and is unsigned. Its processor is the latest from last year.
In short, it's a OnePlus phone as it was sold 10 years ago. That explains the price difference: $670 instead of $1,070 for the 12 in total.
And since both devices have Android 14 and are designed to last about the same amount of time, the only visible difference between the two is… the camera.
Samsung Galaxy S24
Every year Samsung distances itself a little further from the rest of the mobile market by introducing its new Galaxy S phones earlier and earlier. In January this year, we were treated to the three Galaxy S24 variants. This fits with its name, the number of which has been linked to the exact year of its launch since 2020.
Again, it is the most expensive model that inherits the best camera. By default, the Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus have three lenses, including a 67mm telephoto lens. The S24 Ultra also has a 111mm telephoto lens. That's much more modest than the 230mm lens on last year's Galaxy S23 Ultra, but it's also a positive: the photos are sharper and, let's be honest, without a tripod, telephoto lenses that are too powerful are completely useless.
But here too, by announcing high ratings for the S24 Ultra's camera, Samsung is highlighting how important it is to have the best camera on the market, not just the best phone, to attract buyers. Does it justify its retail price, which starts at $1,800? It depends on who you ask.
People who buy a phone for its communication capabilities will find this cost unnecessary, and they're right.
Anyone who swears by the countless photos that they then share on the social network of their choice will have no problem paying the equivalent of a complete personal computer for the most powerful smartphone on the market.
Did we write smartphone? Rather, we meant a connected digital camera.