The Realme 11 Pro+ smartphone, developed in partnership with Samsung, offers exciting new camera capabilities that defy expectations for a mid-range device. Its 200-megapixel Samsung-made ISOCELL HP3 sensor enables it to perform a camera trick called “sensor-cropping”, producing “lossless/optical quality” zoom at two different values, 2x and 4x, thanks to the high megapixel count in its primary camera.
While some high-end devices like the iPhone 14 Pro and Pixel 7 can perform 2x lossless zoom using their high-res cameras, they are not able to do so at a higher level of magnification without additional zoom shooters. The Realme 11 Pro+ allows for 4x lossless zoom with a single camera, delivering sharp and highly detailed photos in good and low light conditions.
What’s truly remarkable is that the phone achieves this with a single 200MP camera, freeing up space and cutting costs compared to devices with dedicated zoom lenses. Realme’s achievement could signal a return to single-camera smartphones, as manufacturers continue to develop new technology to combine multiple cameras into one.
As we look ahead, it is exciting to contemplate the potential for a “camera formula” that could allow for 1x, 2x, 3x, 4x, and 5x lossless quality zoom options on a single lens. While this would require extreme processing power, it is not impossible, as Realme and Apple have already achieved variations of this “magic trick.”