It’s gettin’ real in the smartphone camera turf war, Hot on the heels of rivals like Huawei and Xiaomi making bold moves with their in-house mobile imaging, it appears Vivo is gearing up for its own photography power play with a new spin-off mobile imaging brand called “BlueImage.”
According to freshly unearthed leaks, Vivo has registered trademarks for the BlueImage moniker covering everything from image sensors and optical lenses to onboard imaging processors and algorithms. The paper trail suggests BlueImage could be Vivo’s vehicle for taking greater control over its camera hardware and computational photography smarts.
That would mark a major strategic shift for a company that has carved out a solid rep in mobile photography—thanks in large part to its long-standing partnership with legendary optics titans Zeiss to develop lenses for phones like the Vivo X series. But as impressive as those Zeiss-approved cams have been, it seems Vivo has grander ambitions to flex its imaging prowess on the world stage.
The big question is whether Vivo plans to eventually go solo and ditch Zeiss as its BlueImage portfolio expands, or if it envisions a sort of dual-track approach combining in-house hardware with that classic German glass. We’re hoping it’s the latter, as the idea of Zeiss + Vivo’s homegrown tech sounds downright tantalizing.
Rumor has it, the first BlueImage-branded hardware could make its grand debut as early as Vivo’s next ultra-premium flagship, the Vivo X100 Ultra (Get Ready Vivo X100 Ultra: 200MP Ultra Telescopic Cam). That would undoubtedly position the mysterious device as one of the most powerful and advanced camera phones in the company’s history.
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