HMD is Bringing ZEISS Imaging Back to Nokia
- Paul Thurrott
- Jul 06, 2017
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The availability of ZEISS imaging technology was among the many advantages of Nokia’s Windows phone handsets. And it’s making a comeback soon in HMD’s new Android-based Nokia handsets.
“Collaborating with ZEISS is an important part of our commitment to always deliver the very best experience for our customers,” HMD CEO Arto Nummela says in a prepared statement. “Our fans want more than a great smartphone camera, they want a complete imaging experience that doesn’t just set the standard but redefines it. Our fans expect it and, together with ZEISS, we’re delivering it, co-developed imaging excellence for all.”
This kind of attention to history and the needs of its fans speaks well of HMD’s intentions in reviving the Nokia brand. And given the times, where camera capabilities have become one of the most important considerations in any smartphone purchase, it makes smart business sense as well.
I assume most readers are aware of the impact of ZEISS imaging technology in Nokia’s high-end Windows phone handsets, most notably the 41 MP Lumia 1020, but also the Lumia 1520, 930/Icon, and others. This was one of several major differentiators for Nokia at the time, and it helped to (temporarily, at least) cement the company’s position as a leader in camera imaging.
Those days are long over, and most high-end smartphones, including newer Apple iPhones, the Samsung Galaxy S7/S8, the Google Nexus 6P/5X and Pixel, and others now feature excellent cameras that easily surpass the performance and imaging capabilities of those now-dead Nokia devices.
According to the announcement, the partnership is exclusive and long-term, and it will result in the firms “setting new imaging standards,” “advancing the quality of the total imaging experience,” and other meaningless phrases. So we’ll see what HMD is able to accomplish with ZEISS. I suspect it will be early next year before the first results are known. Mobile World Congress 2018 perhaps?
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Bats
<p>I am just amazed at Nokia's comeback. If I were Microsoft, I would feel stabbed in the back. Nokia's phone were always good, but not overly great. Then again, Nokia phones were operating on that highly inferior operating system. The only reason they survived as long as they did was because of the company brand. Let's face it, when people bought a Nokia Lumia they didn't buy it because it was operating Windows Phone, they bought it because it was the phone said "Nokia." When they found out that their phone wasn't actually "Nokia" they bailed.</p><p>I remember all the commercials aired by Microsoft and their 41 megapixel phones. Yet, hardly anyone bought them because people realized that a 41 megapixel camera is no differnt than a 12 megapixel. Sure, "camera people" like Paul showed us the pixel differences, but they had to zoom in on the pixels to show us. However, in the real world and with the human eye, there was actually no difference.</p><p>Under Android, I am expecting the picture quality of their camera phones to raise the game even more with the Android partners. I don't know if Nokia will actually make the 41 megapixel mean anything, but I am sure their technological experts will make Samsung's, Google's, Motorola's…their experts much better. </p>