“They're reviving a failure:” cybernauts chuckle about Xiaomi’s device shown during MWC 2025
Together with Xiaomi’s custom 15 model, the company has showcased a magnetic lens system that can turn your phone into a professional camera.
Image by Xiaomi
Together with Xiaomi’s custom 15 model, the company has showcased a magnetic lens system that can turn your phone into a professional camera.
Smartphones keep getting slimmer yet provide users with better camera systems. Xiaomi continues this trend with a concept that was showcased during this year’s Mobile World Congress (MWC).
The China-based company has announced its Modular Optical System, which is a detachable 35mm lens. It’s been reported that, compared with conventional smartphone cameras, the Xiaomi lens is supposed to improve the quality of the image, especially in low-light settings.
The device works by attaching the lens to the smartphone via a magnetic ring on the phone’s back. The lens transmits data through Xiaomi’s LaserLink technology. After the lens is attached to the phone, it works with the phone’s photo app and provides users with professional features, such as RAW capture, Pro mode, Leica image processing, and more.
One of the main advantages of such an attachment is that it allows users to enjoy their slim phones while also enabling them to obtain better-quality images.
It’s not yet sure when the company will release the system as it only revealed its concept during the conference in Barcelona.
The news about the future Xiaomi device started a discussion online.
“Nice to see Sony's concept from (checks notes) 11 years ago making a comeback!,” wrote one user, with some others pitching in with companies that tried to execute similar technology in the past.
“It's a case of technology catching up to the promise of the concept,” noted one Redditor, referring to companies such as Sony and Samsung that tried to go with a similar idea, but didn’t execute it well.
“They're reviving a failure. This was tried and crashed. Sony tried it. Motorola tried it. LG tried it (the worst one in the worst way),” agreed one more user online.
Many Redditors online agreed that detachable cameras are the next step, as “we're approaching some physical limits of what smartphone cameras can do (short of some insane material science or other clever engineering).”
“Ok, if the processing isn't horrible this might actually be the first smartphone to actually be able to compete with actual cameras, damn,” noted another Reddit user online.
One of the main things that makes Xiaomi stand out is its LaserLink technology. This is an optical communication module that can share data at high speed, reaching speeds up to 10 Gbps.