Remember Xiaomi's modular camera concept? It might actually happen this year

Cameras need space. Manufacturers have done an utterly remarkable job creating some incredibly compact lens-and-sensor assemblies — so much so that for the vast majority of us, our phones are now our primary cameras — but when you really want to go above and beyond with features and image quality, that means growing past the confines of our phones. One way a number of brands have been doing that is through add-on lenses, but last last year, one phone company teased an even more impressive add-on — and it could soon be ready to make its commercial debut.

Last year at MWC, Xiaomi showed off something it called the Modular Optical System. Old-school Android fans probably flashed back instantly to Sony’s failed “lens-style cameras” which attempted the same sort of trick: offer a complete, full-sized camera-and-lens package that attaches to the back of your handset.

Xiaomi’s version included some advanced new features, like a high-speed laser-based data connection and the ability to power itself right from your phone. But at the time, this was all presented as a concept, with no firm plans for commercial release.

Officially, Xiaomi still isn’t offering any updates on its Modular Optical System ambitions, but a recent post from leaker Digital Chat Station on Weibo hints at possible progress (translated):

Mass production of magnetic lenses has begun, and they could be available as early as this year (TBD)

Theoretically, that could mean a lot of things — like add-on lenses that just attach magnetically to built-in phone cameras. But that would also be an odd thing for the leaker to pronounce like this, and when we think about the sort of magnetic lens products that might be worth hyping up in this manner, it’s really only Xiaomi’s Modular Optical System that comes to mind.

Equipped with the same sort of Four Thirds sensor found in consumer digital cameras, that hardware looked quite capable when we first met it a year ago — but that was also a prototype, and we wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of specifics might have changed along the evolution to something ready for mass production. And again, we aren’t even totally sure this is even Xiaomi’s system we’re talking about in the first place, so all this speculation could still be a tad premature.

That said, we’re hugely excited to learn what Xiaomi might be planning for this hardware. This year’s MWC is only a few weeks away, so who knows? Maybe we’ll get another update on progress then.