Samsung just announced something that looks like it belongs in the mid-2000s. . . but looks can be deceiving. Meet Samsung's new flip phone: the W2018. Announced earlier today at an event in Xiamen, China, the followup to the W2017 is an Android-powered flip phone that boasts smartphone-caliber specs.
In fact, the 12-megapixel rear camera is nearly identical to the one found in the Galaxy S8, featuring dual pixel autofocus, optical image stabilization and 1. 4
It does differ in one very interesting way though.
Not only does the W2018 boast an F1. 5 aperture—the brightest you'll find on a phone—that aperture is actually variable, switching between F1. 5 and F2. 4 when it senses there's enough light around. In this way, the phone automatically captures as much of the background as possible.
You can see the trick in this close-up video uploaded to Weibo by Jason Wang:
Rumors have been floating around that the Galaxy S9 will feature a variable aperture F1. 5 lens; as you might expect, the appearance of the selfsame lens in another Samsung phone makes us pretty confident that will, indeed, be the case. As to whether or not you ever really need to 'stop down' a smartphone camera lens. . . that's another topic entirely.
Like the W2017 before it, this phone will first be released in China, comes with a bunch of "VIP" perks like free tech support, and will probably cost upwards of $3,000. . . no, we didn't add another zero.
. dpreview.com2017-12-2 00:25