>>3277818>I highly doubt phones ever getting optical zoom just for size reasons.Never say never. Sure, space is a concern, but this doesn't mean they can't adopt a retractable/telescopic system. I'm not saying it will happen, or that it is even likely to happen, I just state it as a possibility.
>But does it affect the image quality at all?I'll give you that: it probably won't, but it's a gimmick, like the whole camera deal in a smartphone after all.
>Honestly all people want from a cell phone camera is good low light performanceMaybe, but billion of dollars get funneled into marketing departments and then routed into R&D to make the great new gimmick of the year; ten years ago Nokia was all into megapixels, fast forward and last year it was the double camera meme year, with a race to bigger apertures that still ensues, I guess this year will be the year of triple camera and variable aperture. In each year every new step forward is just a gimmick, I won't argue with that, but in the long run it all stacks.
Twelve years ago, when this picture was taken (I think I used a Nokia N70), the quality was just too low to be even comparable with a film or a digital camera of any kind; nowadays, in terms of quality, dedicated P&S cameras are still ahead, but the gap is in full diminishing return territory.
