Almost all phones have this annoying hardware feature: it's time for manufacturers to get rid of ultra-wide cameras.
Ultra, why bother?
Modern smartphones often feature multiple cameras on their rear panels, with configurations ranging from two to four lenses. Generally, at least one of these cameras is an ultra-wide, commonly referred to as 0.5x or 0.6x in comparison to the main camera. For instance, Apple promotes its base model, the iPhone 16, as a device with a 4x optical zoom range, thanks to an internal crop in its main camera and a 0.5x "zoom" provided by the ultra-wide camera.
However, beyond the attractive numbers and marketing tricks, many wonder whether we actually desired to have an ultra-wide camera in the first place. The iPhone 7 Plus was the first phone to make a significant impact with its dual-camera setup, introducing the idea of having a wide-angle main camera and a 2x telephoto camera at a time when digital zoom was quite limited on smartphones.
Released in 2016, the iPhone 7 Plus marked a milestone with its dual-camera system. Subsequently, the iPhone X and its successor, the iPhone XS, continued this trend, and other manufacturers, like Samsung with its Galaxy S9 Plus, also joined in with telephoto cameras. However, since the iPhone 11, it has begun to be considered the norm for premium phones to come equipped with ultra-wide cameras, relegating telephoto lenses to a less common luxury. In the budget phone segment, telephoto lenses are quite rare compared to the more common and seemingly cheaper option of ultra-wide lenses.
Ultra-wide cameras have their advantages, such as allowing for macro photos by getting close to subjects, and they can be useful for framing more elements in a single image. Nevertheless, in everyday photography—which represents most smartphone usage—a 2x optical zoom proves to be much more practical. This zoom helps photographers capture a greater diversity of everyday snapshots, achieving more appealing portraits and more detailed close-ups.
Moreover, ultra-wide cameras in smartphones are not typically well-corrected during image processing, which can cause people and objects at the edges of the image to appear unnaturally stretched.
Fortunately, it seems that a shift is occurring in this aspect. Xiaomi has begun to include telephoto cameras in several of its mid-range models, and even its new foldable model, the Xiaomi Mix Flip, features a 2x zoom as its only auxiliary camera. Samsung's Galaxy S24 family also includes some type of optical zoom camera.
It is encouraging that there are rumors suggesting that the next generation of the iPhone SE will maintain the tradition of a single camera, allowing for more resources and attention to be directed toward performance and battery life, rather than focusing on a camera with limited uses. These decisions are expected to benefit more affordable phones in the coming years as well, although for now, it seems I will continue searching for high-performing phones that truly offer a secondary camera I want to use.
