Carl Zeiss AG is a German optical system producer founded in 1846. Not long after that, Nokia was founded in Finland in 1865. In 2005, both of these giants collaborated in making the first N series device, N90. This is the birth of superior imaging on mobile devices that create paths for larger devices with Nokia Branding and Zeiss imaging. Choose any Nokia phone with good imaging and of course has a zeiss lens. That’s the collaboration between the two so that Nokia and Zeiss are almost identical.
While Zeiss is actually not exclusive for Nokia because they also have a collaboration with a short -sony -Sony, for most Nokia makes Zeiss relevant in the cellular arena. New names like Leica, Hasselblad began to make their way to mobile devices and Zeiss realized that if they needed to remain relevant in the cellular market, they needed to find alternative partners.
While I can’t say much about their collaboration with Sony for their Xperia series, collaboration with Vivo is of course something that makes me ask questions. Why doesn’t Nokia do the same thing?
So why did Zeiss end their collaboration? Before continuing, this article was written based on the news reported first in Nokiamob which has further details about this problem.
The rise of Nokia in the cellular arena, the supremacy held at the imaging department is something that many of us remember.
While many things can be associated with the fall of the next Nokia, his birth is not what we expect.
What started great and promising is a nightmare for many people. While internal problems are unknown, HMD Global is seen as a company that has no direction, and the desire to follow what they promise. While a certain group of people can justify their performance by highlighting the profitability of the company, in all honesty, profits made by cutting costs are actually not profit. This is a failure management action that if not restructured, will bury the company forever.
So, can we really blame Zeiss for the current difficulty? Although it is difficult to swallow the truth, Zeiss does what other reasonable companies will do. To maintain the brand name and quality, Zeiss is ready to move in any direction that is needed unlike Global HMD.
How deep is the integration?
This is something that is difficult to say. Is it only optics? Are they calibrating images output? How far does Zeiss affect the final product?
I am not really knowing the answer above. The Pureview team is responsible for the image processing algorithm for most PureView devices under previous management.
After collaborating together for almost 17 years, there is a possibility that Zeiss will have input in the processing of images that will be the backbone of the Nokia imaging algorithm. The input of the two companies will assimilate quite well which must distinguish where Zeiss ends and Nokia begins.
Lumia 950 left, nokia xr20 5g right
Although almost 6 years the gap between them, the Pureview processing algorithm produces superior results on much older hardware.
I took this problem and more sample images in my video below.
Future
Lack of Zeiss in Nokia products in the future might compensate for some people. But companies like Apple and Samsung are good without branding like that. Hardware is only a part of equations and good software -the same wise. But where Nokia or rather Global HMD is located, software is the place they have the least.
In September, there may be 2 possibilities. We might be able to see Zeiss branded optics in the newer X series. Remember Nokia 7.3 Myth or whatever is called internal? There is a very small possibility that this device was replaced by a new X series. Unfortunately, the probability for this is very low because the design language does not match their current lineup. But to be honest, the generic design called the G11/G21 may only be provided for lower midrange devices and Nokia may maintain a unique design for their upper midrange offers. The second possibility is that the device in September is all new line ups, maybe with a new design language and for the first time offering Pureview branding without OPTICAL ZEISS. If HMD Global decides to use all Ultra Budget in September, do the current design language with a camera module that does not have Pureview branding and Zeiss branding at all.