Archive: archive.is/…/smartphone-cameras-from-chinese-make…

Far out

Xiaomi Corp. and Vivo are the new champions of mobile cameras, marking the first time in many months that anyone’s had a clear-cut advantage in the smartphone photography arms race.

The reason? Zoom cameras.

I’ve been testing Vivo’s X200 Pro and Xiaomi’s 15 Ultrafor over a month each, and the photos their zoom cameras deliver are unprecedented in their sharpness and quality. What had until this autumn been mostly a gimmick — telephoto cameras habitually delivered lesser results than the “main” wide-angle shooters on most phones — is now a genuinely respectable shooting option.