Huawei has filed a new patent application for a smartphone case with CNIPA (China Nationa Intellectual Property Administrationtion) and the camera cut out on the case seems to be much larger than its previous smartphones. The new patent suggests that the company would be going with a penta-lens camera module. The smartphone case suggests the phone is to be a Mate 20 successor which has 3 cameras set up at the back. The larger camera cut out suggests that Huawei Mate 30 will have 5 cameras at the back.
The smartphone case patent was first spotted by Mobielkopen.
It has been rumored that the next Nokia phone will have a penta-lens camera setup, and with Mate 30, Huawei might be looking to compete with HMD global with their own version of a 5-lens camera module.
The Huawei Mate 20 has a 3 lens setup along with an LED flash compromising of a 40-megapixel primary lens, a 20-megapixel ultrawide secondary lens, and an 8-megapixel telephoto lens. This gave the camera setup on Mate 20 a boxy look. However, the cut out the patent case denotes a rectangular approach which suggests that the company might be adding two more lenses to its flagship device.
The case also suggests a lack of a fingerprint scanner at the back which is not surprising considering the Mate 20 has an in-display fingerprint authentication. Apart from the camera, the case reveals that the volume key and power button will be located at the right side of the smartphone while the bottom edge will house a USB type-C port and speaker grille.
As this is just a patent design, there is no guarantee that the Mate 30 is to have penta-lens camera setup, however, with the upcoming Nokia 9 flagship with the same setup it would make sense for Huawei to go along with this design.
Although there is a long time since the release of Mate 30 since Huawei usually releases its Mate flagships by the end of the year, we might be able to see a similar camera setup on the Huawei P30 which is expected to be released at MWC this year.
With smartphones innovations every day, manufacturers are incessantly focusing on the optics department of their smartphones. Until 2018, smartphones were available with as much as 2 cameras at the back. However, with P30, Huawei ventured into uncharted territories where they added a third camera on their smartphone. This step from Huawei had amassed much chatter in the tech market. Smartphone manufacturers since then have been trying to push the boundaries with a variety of lenses on their smartphones and with the new patent design, Huawei might be looking to take it to the next level. Although the practical use of 5 cameras on a phone is debatable, it doesn’t hurt have more.