They say the smartphone has killed the digital camera. It’s wrong. Like Neo in The matrix, the camera has essentially dematerialized itself to attack its oppressor from within. Result: in 2024, the phone is little more than a connected digital camera.
You just need to watch the presentation of the new phones and calculate the time spent describing their main functions to realize it. In the last month, Samsung and OnePlus have unveiled their most recent models. On Samsung’s side, the Galaxy S24 comes in three versions, the main differences of which are the size of the screen and their battery, and the number of lenses that their respective digital camera has.
OnePlus 12 and 12R
OnePlus goes a little further and presented two phones at the beginning of February, the OnePlus 12 and 12R, which are something of a return to basics for the Chinese brand. Before becoming a full-fledged brand of the Chinese company Oppo, OnePlus had its heyday by marketing some of the most powerful Android-based smartphones, but sold at a fraction of the price of the most popular models – like those from Samsung, precisely.
Like its rivals, the OnePlus brand then became gentrified. It ended up selling its high-end Android phones, equipped with the latest Qualcomm processors, the latest display technologies, and a state-of-the-art camera, at 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 double the brightness of the Apple iPhone 15 screen. It is powered by Qualcomm’s latest processor, called Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Mobile Platform. Its 5400 milliampere/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 most recent Pixel 8 Pro. Mirrors allow this lens to be positioned vertically to stretch the focal length, which creates an enlarging effect, the famous “optical zoom”, in relation to the main lens of the camera. Its focal length is equivalent to 70 mm, compared to 23 mm for the main lens and 14 mm for its third lens (a wide-angle).
To make it all more attractive, and because the OnePlus brand is not synonymous with photography among the public, we asked the Swedish company Hasselblad, known for its own cameras, to put its logo on the phone.
This camera from Hasselblad is among the best on a phone at the start of 2024. It is also the biggest distinction between the OnePlus 12 and the 12R. This second novelty is an inexpensive version of the same model, designed using slightly less sophisticated components. His camera does not have a telephoto lens and is not signed. Its processor is the latest from last year.
In short, it’s a OnePlus phone like they sold 10 years ago. That explains the price difference: $670, rather than $1070 for the 12 altogether.
And since both handsets come with Android 14 and are designed to last about as long, the only visible difference between the two is… the camera.
Samsung Galaxy S24
Each year, Samsung distances itself a little further from the rest of the wireless market by presenting its new Galaxy S handsets earlier and earlier. We were treated to the three Galaxy S24 variants in January this year. It fits with their name, the figure of which since 2020 is precisely linked to their year of launch.
Here again, it is the most expensive model which inherits the best camera. As standard, the Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus have three lenses, including a 67mm telephoto lens. The S24 Ultra adds a 111mm telephoto lens. That’s a lot more modest than the 230mm lens on last year’s Galaxy S23 Ultra, but it’s also for the better: photos are sharper and, let’s be honest, without a tripod, overly powerful telephoto lenses are completely useless.
But again, by touting high-scoring numbers for the S24 Ultra’s camera, Samsung is illustrating the importance of having the best camera on the market, and not just the best phone, to attract buyers. Does it justify its retail price, which starts at $1800? It depends who you ask.
People who buy a phone for its ability to communicate will find this expense unnecessary, and they are right.
Those who swear by the countless photos they then share on the social network of their choice will have no problem paying the equivalent of the price of an entire personal computer to obtain the most powerful smartphone on the market. walk.
Did we write smart phone? Rather, we meant connected digital camera.