Quick Links
It’s not often you get invited to check out the inner workings of a smartphone production line.
But that’s exactly what happened to me in early December 2024, as smartphone manufacturer Tecno invited me to take a unique peek into how its smartphones are made—along with the launch of some groundbreaking AI imaging tech, too.
Tecno Launches Its New AI-Powered Imaging Tech at Future Lens
Tecno’s annual Future Lens event is where the smartphone manufacturer reveals its latest imaging tech. That means a focus on camera technology, and this year, it’s deeper integration of AI into its imaging tech.
Like most modern tech, AI is the keyword here. Smartphone imaging tech continues to improve, and at Tecno’s Future Lens event held at its manufacturing site in Chongqing, China, the company revealed three new AI image processing tools. These are the Tecno Image Matrix, its EVS Dynamic Shot tech, and—this is my favorite bit—Tap Any Zoom Dual Prism Telephoto AI tech.
Tecno Image Matrix
The Tecno Image Matrix (TIM) is a new way of processing image data on a smartphone. It uses a multi-layered structure to optimize every part of an image you snap; it basically means every photo you shoot will look pristine, no matter the shooting environment.
Now, that does mean more AI processing of your images. The four layers of the TIM work in the background but effectively take the sweat of wondering whether that picture-perfect moment will come out how you think—it just works.
Tecno’s Image Matrix comprises the following:
- Hardware Foundation Layer: The starting point is still the actual hardware in your smartphone, such as the sensors, lenses, processing package, and so on.
- Deconstruction Layer: Once snapped, your image passes to the “Deconstruction Layer,” where a series of image refinement algorithms begin to work on your snap. These include color balancing, color correction, image stabilization, and so on.
-
Engine Reconstruction Layer: This is where Tecno’s AI magic begins to really kick in, with four different AI imaging algorithms working simultaneously to deliver a perfect image.
- AI RAW is designed to enhance images shot in low-light or backlit situations.
- AI SNAP focuses on reducing shutter speed lag and boosts capture speed.
- AIGC Studio is an integrated suite of image enhancement tools that are applied to every image.
- AI UT (Universal Tone) uses artificial intelligence to balance and restore skin tone, presenting accurate imaging of any subject.
- Application Layer: Just like the Hardware Foundation, the AI tech still needs an application to display your images. Within this layer, you’ll also find different AI tech, such as an AI Image Studio with easy-to-use editing tools.
For those who want to take great shots without having to worry about fiddling around with any settings, Tecno’s deeper AI integration is certainly worth considering.
EVS Dynamic Snapshot
The EVS Dynamic Snapshot is an interesting proposition for anyone who has tried to capture a moving subject and ended up with something more akin to a Francis Bacon—a complete blur of colors, that is.
You don’t need me to explain how burst photography works. Plenty of phones have great burst photo capture, but Tecno’s EVS Dynamic Snapshot is the next step for this imaging tech.
EVS Dynamic Snapshot solves the issue of blurry images by recording the subject’s actual motion data. So, instead of going frame-by-frame, one-by-one, EVS locks onto the subject in the frame and uses an AI algorithm to dynamically establish the best image to highlight the action.
Tecno used the idea of trying to capture a racecar whizzing by at hundreds of miles per hour, much faster than you can hope to snap with a regular smartphone (and even a good few regular cameras, too). Instead, EVS Dynamic Snapshot captures the whole moment and then serves up the perfect frame.
Tap Any Zoom Dual Prism Telephoto
Tecno’s AI imaging stack is great, but have you ever just wanted to dynamically zoom a single part of an image without it becoming a mess? Tecno’s Tap Any Zoom Dual Prism Telephoto is just what you’ve been waiting for.
As said, I found this the most interesting part of Tecno’s new AI imaging tech. It basically makes the telephoto lens in your smartphone way more useful with a new dual-prism design, lens-shifting OIS, and AI algorithm that captures amazingly crisp and accurate shots.
But that’s not all. You can then double-tap to zoom into any subject in the image, zooming in at up to 30x while remaining incredibly clear. In combination with the dual prism design, it means you can capture images at a bonkers 400MP using an ultra-wide angle, or stitch together images using a telephoto sweep image function.
Being able to reframe a whole image without losing any detail is really interesting and useful tech and something I’ll definitely be using.
Tecno Showed Me Exactly How My Smartphone Is Made
It wasn’t all about the AI imaging tech at Tecno Future Lens. Tecno took me and other attendees for a previously unseen tour of its smartphone manufacturing process from start to finish.
As you can imagine, there are a huge amount of automated processes using highly specialized machines, shunting smartphones from the bare beginnings of a frame through to the finished product.
But there are still a huge number of human-input processes, too. Those cameras that arrive working fresh out of the box and perfectly calibrated? There is a person checking that on each smartphone that rolls down the line. It’s the same for other processes like charging, screen conductivity, and so on.
So, while the overall process is all about automation, the level of human interaction required surprised me. And yes, I’ve seen videos of smartphone lines before, but seeing it in person brings home the extensive requirements put onto and into each smartphone.
The other part of the Tecno factory tour I found interesting was the individual smartphone testing. There’s nothing like seeing a brand-new smartphone shoved into a pressurized container and having water jets fired at it, then seeing it work like new. Again, I’ve dropped my phone in water and know it’ll work fine, but seeing those testing processes up close definitely gives a new perspective on the level of testing our smartphones are subject to before hitting our pockets.
