TECNO's latest imaging innovations aim to transform telephoto cameras on smartphones

What you need to know

• TECNO held its annual Future Lens event, where it unveils its latest imaging innovations.
• The company has shown off a smaller Dual-Mirror Reflect Telephoto module developed with Samsung.
• TECNO's Freeform Continuum Telephoto module allows for continuous optical zoom from 1x to 9x.

A good camera can make or break a phone, and TECNO knows this. It's become the focus of the company's Future Lens event, which it holds annually, and this year, TECNO is showing off some interesting advancements it's making in telephoto lenses.

The first is a collaboration with Samsung and Largan, a manufacturer of optical lenses, to create a compact telephoto camera module. The Dual-Mirror Reflect Telephoto module incorporates a coaxial optical design that folds the optical path of the image by reflecting light between lenses, enabling a smaller overall design (see the video below for a visual breakdown of how it works).

According to TECNO, this results in a 50% smaller telephoto camera module that still retains image quality and produces a donut bokeh effect.

As we start seeing thinner smartphones like the Galaxy S25 Edge and iPhone Air (or even TECNO's own Spark Slim), having a slim telephoto lens such as this could address one of the main shortcomings of these types of devices, which often ditch the telephoto lens to retain a design that's as slim as possible.

TECNO Dual-Mirror Reflect Telephoto: Power Zoom in a 50% Smaller Module - YouTube

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TECNO also showed off a rather interesting telephoto module that can achieve continuous zoom up to 9x. This differs from how zoom works on most smartphones, which use digital zoom to fill in the gaps between optical lenses, such as moving from the primary sensor (1x) to a 3x telephoto camera. This can result in noticeable "focal jumps" when moving between sensors.

TECNO's method uses an Alvarez optical architecture to achieve a smaller module than would typically be needed for a method such as this. The result is the ability to move freely between 1x and 9x zoom without the "focal jumps."

This isn't the first time we've seen continuous zoom in a smartphone, but it remains pretty rare, likely due to size constraints. TECNO's solution also appears to offer a wider zoom range, which could potentially eliminate the need for a dedicated telephoto camera, or at least fewer than would be needed on a device like the Galaxy S25 Ultra.

TECNO Freeform Continuum Telephoto: True 1–9x Continuous Optical Zoom - YouTube

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TECNO hasn't stated when we can expect to see these technologies in its smartphones, but we hope it's sooner rather than later. The company has been on a crusade to improve image quality on its smartphones, addressing other camera pain points such as accurate skin tones, fast focus, and "tap anywhere" zoom.

During the Future Lens 2025 event, TECNO also showcased its fully automated imaging laboratory, a collaboration with DXOMARK to help advance imaging capabilities in real-world scenarios.