Huawei phone to feature camera with variable aperture?

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Huawei has reportedly developed a camera module that features six aperture blades

Huawei
(Image credit: LetsGoDigital x Technizo Concept)

As the line between the best camera phone and the best camera continue to blur, it's emerged that Huawei has filed a patent for a camera module with a variable aperture. Photographers will know just how interesting this prospect is, as including a variable aperture means that users will be able to have more control over their depth-of-field and shutter speed. 

Earlier this year, Huawei Technologies filed a patent entitled 'Aperture, Camera module and Electronic Device' with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). This was then released on 19 August 2021, detailing Huawei's plans for using a variable aperture in upcoming camera phones.

• Read more: Best Huawei phone

Most smartphone cameras will feature a fixed aperture, which means that the hole through which light is let into the camera will always remain the same size. However, a variable aperture means that the hole changes in size, letting in more or less light depending on the setting chosen. The wider the hole, the faster the shutter speed can be (as more information is being let in). On professional cameras, wider apertures also mean that users can attain a shallow depth-of-field as well. 

According to LetsGoDigital (which produced the product render above in collaboration with Technizo Concept), Huawei wants to use at least six aperture blades. As there isn't any space in a smartphone for camera components such as an ultrasonic motor, Huawei apparently wants to use a miniature driver supported by a drive coil and a drive magnet. This would be what controls the aperture blades, making them smaller or larger as required. 

LetsGoDigital notes that Huawei has not specified which lens will end up being equipped with a variable aperture. It's even suggested that multiple cameras could end up with this feature. However, we'll have to wait and see whether this interesting development in Huawei phone technology will bear fruit, or whether it will fade away as a forgotten patent. 

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Louise Carey
Louise Carey

With over a decade of photographic experience, Louise arms Digital Camera World with a wealth of knowledge on photographic technique and know-how – something at which she is so adept that she's delivered workshops for the likes of ITV and Sue Ryder. Louise also brings years of experience as both a web and print journalist, having served as features editor for Practical Photography magazine and contributing photography tutorials and camera analysis to titles including Digital Camera Magazine and  Digital Photographer. Louise currently shoots with the Fujifilm X-T200 and the Nikon D800, capturing self-portraits and still life images, and is DCW's ecommerce editor, meaning that she knows good camera, lens and laptop deals when she sees them.