Light passes through a lens smaller than a thumbnail, undergoes precise refraction through 5 to 8 optical lenses within a compact space, and works in coordination with over 20 precision components, ultimately converging accurately on the sensor—a smartphone camera typically no thicker than 9 millimeters can capture a clear world of up to 200 million pixels.
In the cleanroom of Wuhan Contemporary Hualu Optoelectronic Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Hualu Optoelectronics) in the Dongxihu District, over hundreds of thousands of such “eyes of the phone” are manufactured daily and sent to the production lines of globally renowned brands such as Samsung, Xiaomi, OPPO, and Lenovo.
Monthly production of 6 million smartphone cameras
Factory production orders scheduled through the end of the year
Inside Hualu Optoelectronics’ Class 100 cleanroom, technical workers in full anti-dust attire conduct regular inspections, while components like lenses, chips, and motors are sequentially welded on automated production lines.
“These assembled camera modules are critical components for image capture units in smartphones, wearable devices, and smart vehicles.” The factory has 8 dedicated production lines for smartphone cameras, with a monthly output of approximately 6 million units. Current production orders are scheduled through the end of the year.
It is understood that currently, about 70% of Hualu Optoelectronics’ total revenue comes from smartphone camera modules. Although not directly exported, the products are sold worldwide through smartphone manufacturers and widely used in various global scenarios.
“The camera is one of the ‘four major components’ of a smartphone. The lens is like the eye of the phone, determining whether it can capture images and, more importantly, how well it can capture them.”
Today, it is common for a single smartphone to be equipped with multiple lenses: the main camera handles most scenarios, the wide-angle lens expands the field of view, and the telephoto lens brings distant objects closer. Among these, the telephoto lens, due to its higher manufacturing difficulty and cost, has become a key factor for smartphone manufacturers competing in imaging capabilities.
“In 2022, recognizing consumer demand for capturing the moon and stars with smartphones, we decided to develop a 30x ultra-telephoto lens.” With a camera, to capture more distant scenes, photographers use telephoto lenses; the principle is the same for smartphones, but the longer the focal length, the longer the lens.
“Without increasing the thickness of the phone, it is impossible to make the smartphone lens ‘extend’ spatially like a camera lens.” After all, no matter how ingeniously designed, achieving 5x optical zoom was previously the limit for smartphone lenses.
If the traditional lens structure wouldn’t work, could the lens structure be improved? The R&D team came up with an idea: based on the conventional periscope telephoto design, add multiple reflection structures to increase the optical path length, achieving a larger image distance and higher zoom倍数.
Following this design approach, the R&D team worked tirelessly for two years, undergoing dozens of validation rounds, and ultimately developed this ultra-telephoto lens capable of 30x magnification and clear night sky viewing, which has been installed in phones from brands like Coolpad and Benco.
Now, Hualu Optoelectronics can provide full-series, customized camera module solutions ranging from megapixels to over a hundred megapixels.
Exploring New Avenues
Ultrasonic Camera Solves Contamination Cleaning Challenges
Beyond smartphone camera业务, Hualu Optoelectronics is currently exploring new avenues. In the company’s exhibition hall, a
