TheRealme Ultraconcept is one of those very especial , rarefied pieces of tech that you see and cogitate , “ that ’s so insane I can scarce believe it be . ” But there I was holdingandusing it . It ’s more camera lens with a phone attached than it is a schematic cameraphone , and is truly unlike anything we ’ve seen in ages .
It’s a concept, for now
When I was engage the Realme Ultra conception phone out of the box seat , I laugh . It ’s something many have talked about over the years , and somebig names like Sonyhave even had a go at something interchangeable in the past , but this was the first sentence I was have a go with one and it feltwrong , but in a merriment , I can’t - beleive - this - is - actual way .
I ’m not going to call the Ultra concept the most polished , exploiter - friendly camera on a earphone I ’ve ever used , but that ’s not what it ’s about . It ’s to show what ’s possible , and with the veracious amount of attention to contingent , it could become a material thing we can actually purchase .
On the back of the Realme Ultra headphone ( which look suspiciously like theXiaomi 15 Ultra ) are two regular - attend camera , a independent and a wide - angle , but both apply 1 - column inch sensors arrive at them highly impressive on their own . But right in the heart of the tv camera module is an undecorated CMOS detector . It looks just like a camera does when you take off the lens , because that ’s precisely what ’s been done with the Realme Ultra .
To assemble the lens system outfit you take a special adapter plate and lock it into position on the back of the headphone . It ’s easy to do , and it ’s tightened down enough that it wo n’t break spare . Now , the magic pass off . Along with the concept phone , Realme had brought along two full - size camera electron lens , one for a 3x zoom and the other for a 10x rapid climb . Both had a repair focal length with an adjustable aperture and manual focus closed chain . After trace up the ruby-red dots on the lens and adapter and operate it into spot , you ’re ready to jump shooting photos with the most bizarre looking camera / phone crossbreed you ’ve ever seen .
Taking photos with the Ultra
There is a grounds no - one place a monumental tv camera crystalline lens on the back of a earphone , it ’s because the whole thing becomesreallyunwieldy . It ’s operose to know where to hold the “ photographic camera ” with the 10x zoom lens of the eye tie , because it ’s too back - heavy to just sustain the phone , and a bit awkward to take for the lense and the phone , and tap the shutter button . It ’s even more of a challenge because there ’s no optical prototype stabilisation ( OIS ) , only electronic stabilization ( EIS ) , and if your hired hand are n’t tilt steady , it ’s unvoiced to keep your subject in bod .
But it ’s not impossible , and when you get it correct , the results are unlike any photos you ’d usually take with a smartphone . Because I was watch the Realme Ultra concept phone in Barcelona , Spain for MWC 2025 , I take the phone and its whopping lens to the famousSagrada Familia landmark , and take a series of photos from a distance , getting up nigh with details high off the ground . The manual focus is a challenge , but the answer — for a construct telephone set — are fantastic .
I film various other photos , bringing out some sensational profoundness of field simply impossible to repeat with a normal smartphone telephoto tv camera . The manual focus is foxy but rewarding , and the adjustable aperture should signify it ’s splendid to use in low light , provided you ’ve got a tripod handy . I loveexperimenting with camera , and I knew I could have walk around all day assay out the Realme Ultra and its demented 10x rapid climb lens . I was n’t the only one rouse by the weird looking phone . We were in a very meddling area , and the fury of the tv camera and its lens attracted a bonny amount of tending .
Andy Boxall / Digital Trends
Will it become a real thing?
The Realme Ultra is a concept telephone set , but there does seem to be a plan to make it a real product in the future . Realme understands it need to make the whole matter a lot more user - well-disposed though . The camera app has been conform with two raw options for the 3x and 10x modality , alongside the normal 1x and wide - angle , but there ask to be more stabilisation and belike an autofocus mode too . At the moment it ’s merriment for television camera nerds to play with , but everyone else will find out it vexing .
The adaptor ringing patronize any M mount television camera electron lens , but because the computer software is tailor to the 3x and 10x crystalline lens , it may need extra work to bear out other genus Lens that may be attached to the sound . Then there ’s the interrogation of both monetary value and restroom . Carrying a smartphone with a great television camera isverydifferent to carrying a smartphone and a innkeeper of big lens system , and if you ’re splashing out for both a smartphone and lenses , the doubt of whether to just buy a unconstipated camera and lens of the eye will sure as shooting arise . All this is why it ’s a construct phone , not a veridical product just yet .
Interestingly , it ’s not the only such gimmick at MWC 2025 . Xiaomi also shew off a construct phone scream the Xiaomi Modular , which uses an unusual magnetised attachment system to harbor bigger lenses on the back of a smartphone . It experimented with this concept in the yesteryear with theXiaomi 12S Ultra Concept , a $ 41,000 fiend that the Realme Ultra concept understandably builds on .
Andy Boxall / Digital Trends
The Realme Ultra is exactly the tolerant ofcrazy television camera phone conceptI want to see at MWC 2025 , and although I ’ve no idea if it will end up becoming a products we can buy , after just a short prison term play with the massive 10x electron lens , I ca n’t expect to have another go .
Andy Boxall / Digital Trends
