New LG Phone is Laser-Focused (Literally)

During their international launch event for their new G3 handset in London, South Korean tech giant LG unveiled an intriguing fact about the product: their new handset is the very first smartphone to utilize  laser-assisted photo autofocus.

The Laser Auto Focus in LG’s new flagship phone is designed to help the Android camera focus in lighting conditions that would thwart traditional autofocus, allowing it to capture images or videos in dim or even nonexistant light. The laser-assistance also helps the camera lock onto moving objects at a higher speed.

LG’s Laser Auto function allows the G3’s camera to focus on an object in 0.276 of a second, which, according to the company, is less time than it takes a human’s brain signals to reach their hand. The function sends out a low-powered laser beam at its target, which allows the camera to measure its distance from that target. This provides a more accurate measurement than “phase detection,” the process some cameras use to analysis levels of contrast before they take a photo.

You can also trigger the phone to capture an image by making a hand gesture at the camera, which will initiate a short countdown before it takes the shot.

Despite the technology’s improvements on Android’s standard camera, experts are wary of the way it will  affect LG’s sales, especially considering their competition.

“A device needs to have some standout features so that when a consumer goes into a store the retailer can explain what makes it different from other smartphones,” said CCS Insight telecoms consultant Jasdeep Badyal on BBC. “But it will still be a difficult battle for LG, particularly because of the bigger marketing budgets that Samsung, Apple and Sony have.”

While LG has almost doubled its handset sales since 2012, it still remains in fourth place as a smartphone company behind Huawei, Apple and Samsung. LG’s G3 smartphone features a “quad HD” 5.5in screen, which offers better resolution than it’s competitors, but its 13 megapixel rear main camera has a lower resolution than devices offered by Samsung and definitely comes in second place toHuawei’s recently unveiled P7 phone, complete with its 8 megapixel front camera.

Source BBC.