Xiaomi has been at the forefront of smartphone photography innovation since its inception and has consistently delivered an exceptional user experience. Over a decade of dedication has led to profound achievements in advanced imaging spanning both hardware and software.
In 2017, Xiaomi introduced one of the world’s first 12MP camera smartphones, the Mi 6 with 2X optical zoom, 1.25μm pixels, and four-axis OIS. In 2018, a dedicated R&D team was formed to accelerate the progress of smartphone photography. In March 2022, Xiaomi rocked the industry once again with the Xiaomi 12 series, which brought several advances in computational photography, including advanced AI-based features such as Xiaomi ProFocus, Ultra Night Photo and Night Mode. More recently, in July 2022, Xiaomi introduced the Xiaomi 12S series “co-designed with Leica”, beginning the strategic partnership in imaging technology between Xiaomi and Leica. These advances only scratch the surface of Xiaomi’s dedication to smartphone photography.
One of Xiaomi’s most notable smartphone photography achievements is its high-capacity Night Mode algorithm, which enables smooth shooting even in low-light environments. Director of the Department of Algorithms, Lei Lei and his team have received wide recognition for their achievements in this area from both the public and professional photography community, receiving awards at programs such as NTIRE 2022 (New Trends in Image Restoration and Enhancement). ,
Shot on Xiaomi 12 Pro with Night Mode
To learn more about the vision behind Xiaomi’s computational photography push and the inner workings of the AI Imaging Algorithms team, we asked Lei Lei to share some insights.
Simple questions with complex answers
Lei Lei’s team began their search with a simple question: “How can we enable users to take consistently good pictures, regardless of lighting conditions?”
“What we were trying to do was to provide a smart and easy-to-use photography experience based on a deep understanding of users’ photography habits”Lei Lei said that“All AI imaging technologies in Xiaomi smartphones are designed to allow users to take pictures and videos with a closer-to-life look.”
Shot on Xiaomi 12 Pro with Night Mode
Lei Lei describes his approach as “aesthetic exploration”. At Xiaomi, all imaging engineers believe that the user experience is driven by subjective “aesthetic preferences”. Therefore, interpreting these aesthetic preferences has been one of the main themes of the agenda. Solving this puzzle requires a complex mix of image engineering, detail processing, fine-tune contrast ratio and white balance, and even AI learning – to ensure that users are able to capture their images and videos. Get them exactly the way they imagined them.
R&D Success vs. Enhanced User Experience
“While it’s really gratifying to see how our innovations are incorporated into new products, every time we start a new project, what drives us the most is not the success in R&D”Lei Lei explains, Saying that “It is more about seeing how our technologies can help people solve everyday problems and make lives better. I believe this is a value that all Xiaomi imaging engineers subscribe to.” will do.”,
In 2018, as photography became one of the most sought after features on smartphones, major smartphone makers began to allocate a substantial portion of their resources to photo and video research. As a leading brand in the industry, Xiaomi has contributed to this technological trend by introducing products equipped with state-of-the-art photography and videography functions to the mass market. These include some of the biggest smartphone camera lenses in the industry as well as innovative AI features.
Xiaomi’s AI algorithms have been carefully designed and optimized per product keeping in mind the needs of the consumer. “The idea of developing computational photography features, including Night Mode, evolved from our simple observation that images taken in low-light conditions rarely meet user quality expectations, which is compounded by the fact that which is quite common. Shooting landscapes, such as when you go out with friends at night”Lei Lei says.
Night Mode was developed with one clear goal: to allow users to capture sharp, clear images while reducing noise levels when shooting in light as low as 0.1 lux, which is roughly the amount of light source. As is similar to shooting only with the full moon.
“Aiming high and going into a field that hardly any brand has explored before was a big challenge for us. At that time, no one knew how long it would take us to reach the expected destination. What we did is keep moving towards the goal, not as individuals but as a team, respecting science, open to new knowledge and constantly encouraging each other. Personally, I think it’s part of what allows us to achieve technological breakthroughs.”Lei Lei expressed.
