LG Innotek to unveil precision smartphone camera module

South Korea's LG Innotek said on Thursday it will unveil its high-magnification optical camera module with continuous zoom next month at CES 2023, the world's largest IT and electronics exhibition in Las Vegas.

The module is a micro-component with a telephoto function, which has been applied mainly to professional-grade cameras, for use on smartphones.

When installed on a smartphone, the camera can shoot objects from a distance without losing image quality. For this innovation, LG Innotek has earned the CES Innovation Award.

The technology's advantage is its ability to freely shoot with a 4X to 9X optical zoom with one module.

The zoom method is broadly divided into optical, which retains image quality, and digital, which suffers from severe deterioration of such quality.

LG Innotek developed its own zoom actuator, a key component that moves the lens, to achieve crystal-clear picture quality in all ranges between 4X and 9X magnification.

The company said the actuator has improved accuracy, shutter speed and durability and consumes less battery power.

A separate function for preventing optical handshake improves clarity, while the module's thinness resolves the issue of an extruding smartphone camera.

A source at LG Innotek said, "Given the rising demand from global customers for optical zoom, LG Innotek plans to quickly get a head start in dominating the market with differentiated technology and business capacity."

The company also announced a collaboration with Qualcomm to optimize software for optical continuous zoom, for use in the second-generation smartphone app processor Snapdragon 8.

"Smartphone camera evolution will migrate toward better optical zoom performance focused on premium smartphone models," LG Innotek CEO Jeong Cheol-dong said. "We will continue to innovate customer value by releasing advanced products that are a step ahead."  

Write to Ji-Eun Jeong at jeong@hankyung.com