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LG Preparing True Optical Zoom Lenses For Flagship Phones
LG Innotek, a subsidiary of the Korean electronics giant, has unveiled a new telephoto module with traditional camera optics.
LG may have thrown in the towel after the likes of Apple and Samsung began to dominate the smartphone market, however, the electronics powerhouse is still a major parts supplier to the entire tech industry.
One of the company’s subsidiary concerns, LG Innotek, supplies camera modules to well-known smartphone manufacturers, and has just announced a new telephoto zoom unit, which will be shown off at the upcoming CES 2023 event.
The company is teaming up with Qualcomm to fast-track the new optics alongside the roll-out of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip in upcoming Android flagship phones. While smartphones have typically employed digital zoom lenses that use software to reach beyond their default focal length, LG’s design uses moving arts — much like a DSLR— to preserve detail throughout the full range of the zoom.
The resulting lens covers a 4-9x zoom range, along with true optical image stabilization, and it’s hoped that manufacturers will eventually be able to manage with fewer lenses in their smartphones, replacing them with a single multi-use module.
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Sony is the only major manufacturer already offering a smartphone with an optical zoom so far, though Oppo is working on one too. Sony’s Xperia 1 IV doesn’t offer anything like LG’s telephoto range, though, and reviewers have noted that image quality isn’t quite as good as revival offerings.
In the company’s press release, LG Innotek is making a big deal about the new tech, saying that the camera module will help them “solidify the global No. 1 position in the smartphone camera module market.” LG is already in a solid position as we approach 2023, which is largely down to its biggest customer, Apple. The iPhone 15 is rumored to include a folded-optic telephoto lens, and LG looks likely to fit its new tech into a wide range of 2023 android flagship phones.
News
Noon And Yango Switch On Robot Deliveries In Dubai
The rollout folds autonomous couriers into noon’s rapid-delivery network as the UAE tests everyday autonomy.
Noon and Yango Group have signed an agreement to put autonomous robot deliveries into commercial use in Dubai, turning Yango’s earlier pilots into a daily service for noon Minutes orders. The launch in Sobha Hartland is the first full integration of Yango Autonomy’s electric robots with a major e-commerce network in the region, with wider deployment planned across Dubai and, later, other GCC markets.
Residents can choose a robot at checkout, track it in the app and unlock its compartment once it arrives. The hardware runs on Yango’s AI navigation and routing stack, which plans paths, avoids obstacles and yields to pedestrians. The units had already covered more than 1,500 kilometers during previous Dubai pilots, a test bed that demonstrated their ability to operate in mixed pedestrian environments and dense residential streets.
The rollout adds a contactless option to noon’s last-mile network and is positioned as extra capacity during peak periods. “Partnering with Yango Group lets us bring a future-ready delivery option straight to our customers,” said Ali Kafil-Hussain, noon’s Chief Business Officer. Noon has used Minutes to set rapid-delivery expectations in UAE cities; autonomous units now slot into that same high-frequency model.
Regulatory clearance from Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority underpins the move. The RTA authorized Yango’s robots to operate on public walkways and in neighborhoods, smoothing the shift from controlled trials to commercial work. Dubai has framed autonomous mobility as part of its smart-city buildout, and the partners lean on that agenda to accelerate integration.
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For Yango, the partnership is an anchor for its autonomy platform in the Gulf. Islam Abdul Karim, Yango’s Middle East regional head, said the aim is to make autonomous delivery an “everyday, reliable service” for UAE communities. The company views operational data from early districts as the basis for scaling into more communities and, eventually, cross-border rollouts.
The move lands as Gulf retailers search for faster fulfilment and lower-emission logistics. Autonomous couriers remain a small share of last-mile delivery, but Dubai’s approvals and early usage data give the partners a clearer path to turn pilots into durable infrastructure.
