Huawei has Leica and now OnePlus has Hasselblad. The company has announced that it has entered a three-year partnership with iconic camera manufacturer, Hasselblad. The two companies will join together to co-develop what they’re calling the “next-generation of smartphone camera systems for future OnePlus flagship devices.”
The partnership will first be seen on the upcoming OnePlus 9 series phones which are scheduled to launch on March 23rd through a live-streamed event. Deemed to have the most advanced OnePlus camera system yet, the new series will be the first to offer the Hasselblad Camera for mobile.
“OnePlus has always prioritized a premium user experience over everything else. Beginning in 2021, we are making a concerted effort to significantly improve the smartphone camera experience for our users, with the expertise of a truly legendary partner in Hasselblad,” said Pete Lau, Founder and CEO of OnePlus. “With OnePlus’ top-of-the-line hardware and computational photography and Hasselblad’s rich aesthetic knowledge in traditional photography, I am confident that the OnePlus 9 Series will be a major leap forward in our ability to deliver a premium, flagship camera.”
OnePlus and Hasselblad partnerships kicks off its three-year partnership by offering software improvements that will improve color tuning and sensor calibration. Together, the companies have developed a new color solution called Natural Color Calibration with Hasselblad that is designed to bring “perceptually accurate and natural-looking colors” to images taken with OnePlus cameras.
Hasselblad is a household name in the photography industry and is known to produce the best quality images on a medium-format sensor. Often used for fashion photography, Hasselblad cameras are trusted by some of the greatest photographers in the world and have long been considered a premium brand for cameras.
Its partnership with OnePlus will be the first time Hasselblad will offering its technology on a mobile device. It will be bringing its “class-leading sensor calibration” through the Hasselblad Pro Mode. Using the company’s image processing software, users will get an “unprecedented amount of control” as well as access to a 12-bit RAW format with increased dynamic range and richer colors.
With the goal of strengthening its camera capabilities, OnePlus has also announced that it will commit a $150 million investment for its camera development. The investment is geared towards improving its research and development labs around the world as well as pioneering new smartphone camera technology such as a panoramic camera with a 140-degree field of view, T-lens technology for faster focusing front camera, and a free-form lens that eliminates distortion in ultra-wide modes. The last one will be available for the OnePlus 9 series phones.
The cameras on the OnePlus 9 series phones will also offer a custom Sony IMX789 sensor — the largest and most advanced on a OnePlus phone so far. The sensor offers improved HDR video recording, and support for 4K 120FPS and 8K 30FPS video.