OnePlus would possibly make a important digicam mistake with the OnePlus 15

The OnePlus 13 is, surely, certainly one of my favourite Android telephones out there in the present day — and for a mess of causes. Its design is nice, efficiency is excellent, and battery life is wonderful. Not like loads of previous OnePlus telephones, the OnePlus 13’s cameras are simply pretty much as good (if not higher) than the remainder of its flagship rivals.

And that’s why the most recent OnePlus 15 leak has me anxious.

Earlier this week, a widely known leaker teased a number of particulars in regards to the upcoming OnePlus 15, together with the suggestion that the OnePlus 15 received’t function the Hasselblad digicam partnership that has been on flagship OnePlus telephones for the reason that OnePlus 9 sequence. If true, it will mark a monumental change for OnePlus handsets — and it might wreck certainly one of my favourite issues in regards to the OnePlus 13.

Out of every part the OnePlus 13 will get proper (which is a reasonably in depth checklist), its digicam system is without doubt one of the important causes I’ve used the telephone a lot this yr. That’s partly as a result of glorious digicam sensors, however extra so due to the Hasselblad integration.

OnePlus telephones that make the most of the Hasselblad partnership have a number of digicam methods up their sleeve, however an important factor is that they function Hasselblad’s distinctive shade science and picture tuning. And when you ask me, it’s what makes OnePlus telephones (notably the OnePlus 13) so particular.

We’re at some extent with smartphone cameras the place picture/shade tuning is without doubt one of the largest differentiators between which telephone digicam you select. That’s to not say digicam sensor know-how has plateaued, however what an organization does with stated cameras is turning into more and more extra essential.

For instance, photos captured with Google’s Pixel telephones have a definite, flat look. There’s usually a lot of HDR post-processing that flattens shadows and reduces distinction. It’s nice in order for you a brilliant natural-looking picture, however they’re usually not very eye-catching. Samsung telephones, in the meantime, usually produce overly saturated and vibrant-looking footage. It’s not fairly as aggressive in the present day because it was a number of years in the past, but it surely’s nonetheless there.

OnePlus cameras even have their very own distinct look to them, and it’s arguably my favourite of any Android telephone out there in the present day. The Hasselblad tuning on the OnePlus 13 delivers punchy colours with out going overboard. It’s not afraid to retain loads of shadows and distinction in a method you’d by no means see from a Google Pixel telephone. Photographs aren’t at all times 100% true-to-life, however they nearly at all times have a hanging, eye-catching aesthetic.

I’ve included a number of of my favourite examples above. I took all of those pictures on the OnePlus 13, and every one stands out for various causes.

I like the nice and cozy, golden shade the solar casts on the grass within the first image, plus the shadows created by the quite a few bushes. I additionally adore the zoomed-in picture of the budding tree department. Between the stark white flowers, the shadowy department, and the saturated blue sky, it’s a stunning pic. The picture of my canine sitting within the solar, with a darkish shadow forged throughout a part of his face? My Pixel 9 might by no means.

And that’s to not point out the Hasselblad-specific digicam modes, my favourite being XPan Mode. I wrote a complete article about it earlier this yr, however the gist is that it’s one of the distinctive digicam modes out there on Android in the present day — and certainly one of my favourite causes to hold the OnePlus 13.

If OnePlus doesn’t renew its Hasselblad partnership for the OnePlus 15, what’s going to interchange it? Phrase on the road is that OnePlus will launch its personal “picture model” alongside its subsequent flagship, which means that OnePlus can be accountable for all its personal shade science and picture tuning. Moreover, Hasselblad digicam modes resembling XPan and Grasp Mode would possible be discontinued.

Particulars on OnePlus’s “picture model” are nonetheless scarce, but when that is really the route OnePlus has chosen, I hope the corporate is aware of what it’s doing. Hasselblad’s affect on OnePlus smartphones has been past important, and the thought of it going away is worrisome.

It’s not that I don’t belief OnePlus to create its personal competent shade tuning and digicam modes, however when issues are already working so effectively on the OnePlus 13, I don’t like the thought of OnePlus throwing that every one away and ranging from scratch. It’s additionally potential that OnePlus will have the ability to retain loads of what it discovered/designed throughout its time working with Hasselblad, and that this transformation (if it occurs) received’t have a lot affect.

We’ll finally have to attend and see how this shakes out, however from the place we’re sitting proper now, I’m feeling nervous in regards to the OnePlus 15 in a method I wasn’t beforehand. OnePlus has one thing good with the OnePlus 13 digicam, and I actually, actually hope it doesn’t throw that away with the OnePlus 15.