These are the most ridiculous camera phones I've ever seen – but, honestly, they might take good photos

A new series of camera phones is reportedly coming – and luxury doesn't even come close to describing them.

Leaked images of the Aurora smartphone series from Chinese firm Dreame Technology have appeared on Chinese social media. The two models apparently feature a pure gold back panel, genuine diamonds and Chinese cultural engravings of a dragon and phoenix.

So far, along with being absolutely ridiculous, all we know about these smartphones is what can be seen in the leaked images.

However, I can take a stab at what camera specs the Aurora series might have based on a recent product launch where Dreame Technology unveiled other smartphone models.

Until last month, Dreame Technology had been known for home appliances – particularly cordless and robot vacuum cleaners. However, at CES it launched a new action camera called the Leaptic that took aim at the DJI Nano and Insta360 Ace Pro – and now it's eyeing up smartphones.

At the product launch in Poland, which took place in early February, Dreame showcased three devices that are set to be its first foray into the phone market.

The flagship offering of the three was the RS1, also a luxury-style device boasting a gold-plated casing encrusted with artificial gemstones.

But the RS1 also packs some serious photographic power, equipped with a 50MP main camera (35mm), a 64MP periscope (70mm) and a 50MP ultrawide (18mm).

My bet is that the Aurora series will be a souped-up version of the RS1, possibly featuring the 108MP main camera possessed by the other two models unveiled at the showcase – the Dreame E1 and Dreame Air1.

If so, then quite contrary to my first impression, the Aurora series might be capable of producing some pretty good photos. Although, my gut tells me that image quality isn’t Dreame's priority for these rumored devices.

After all, a solid-gold, genuine diamond-encrusted phone is more about flashing the cash than taking sharp stills. And I can’t imagine anyone who buys this kind of thing takes photography seriously.

In fact, I can see the Aurora series becoming a hit in Dubai, which is seemingly home to all the gazillionaires doing the utmost to show off their wealth from the driving seat of their equally ridiculous gold-plated Lamborghinis.

On the other hand, I could be completely wrong, and the Aurora series could rival the iPhone 17 or forthcoming Samsung Galaxy S26 as a top camera phone, albeit for the 1% only.

The leaked photos of the Dreame Aurora series don’t mention a potential release date, so we’ll have to wait for any more information. Until then, you can visit Dreame's main website to see what it's up to in the world of robot vacuums and pool cleaners!

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