You told us: Phones with retractable cameras are incredibly enticing

We’ve seen all sorts of wacky camera technology in recent years. Some are useful, while others are mainly for aesthetics and little else. OPPO’s latest retractable camera example seems to be somewhere in the middle.

The company recently teased this design ahead of its Inno Day event, showcasing a camera that extends beyond the camera bump when needed, and retracts when not in use. It’s not quite a pop-up camera, and OPPO doesn’t give us a good idea of the photographic advantages of this design. Nevertheless, would you buy a phone with a retractable camera?

We asked readers in a recent poll, and the results are now in.

Would you buy a phone with a retractable rear camera?

Results

This poll saw more than 1,000 votes since its went live on December 7. Most readers (64.6%) would buy a phone with a retractable camera. Notably, 22.3% would only consider it if it had a “practical purpose.” Only 13.1% wouldn’t buy a camera with a retractable camera at all. That’s some surprising confidence our readers have in retractable camera designs.

OPPO hasn’t released any technical specs of the camera, so we’re not completely sure of what to expect. That said, there are hopes that this design could result in aesthetic and practical advantages, such as reducing the size of the camera bump and/or offering zoom capabilities. Furthermore, the company has demonstrated its photography prowess in recent years, giving us hope that we’ve got good image quality nonetheless.

Read some reader comments below.

Your comments

• Joe Black: A step towards one telephoto/main – I like it.
• Avieshek: For ~2X telephoto camera, would rather choose non-mechanical parts than a solution deliberately looking for a problem.

That’s it for this poll. Thanks for your votes and comments. If you have any additional thoughts, be sure to drop a comment down below.