OnePlus 8 Pro's X-ray vision will be disabled, company confirms
What's the story
Last week, OnePlus made major headlines with the so-called 'X-ray vision' of one of its flagship phones, the OnePlus 8 Pro. Now, after widespread reports regarding the working and abuse potential of the camera feature, the Chinese company has announced that it will disable the capability for good. Here is all you need to know about it.
Issue
Point of issue: OnePlus 8 Pro's Color Filter camera
OnePlus 8 Pro offers a quad-camera system, which consists of a 48MP Sony IMX689 primary sensor, a 48MP ultra-wide sensor, an 8MP telephoto camera, and a 5MP Color Filter camera. Of these, a number of early takers of the device claimed that the 5MP shooter's Photochrom mode, aimed at improving photographs using infrared sensors, can see through certain devices and clothing materials.
Working
Tests revealed the feature worked selectively
Following comprehensive testing by 8 Pro users, it was confirmed that X-ray worked but in select cases, like when the object or clothing item was made of thin black plastic or fabric. In other cases, it could not see through, but even the slightest chance of that raised alarms within the public, with many questioning OnePlus's decision to include a feature of this kind.
Answer
Now, OnePlus is disabling the feature
Initially, OnePlus remained silent on the matter. But, now the company has announced that it will be disabling the controversial camera filter. In a post on Weibo, the phone-maker said that the camera only produced "a subtle see-through effect" on specific objects but it has "always placed user privacy at the highest level" and is, therefore, removing the feature for good.
Update
Software rolling-out to remove the filter
OnePlus said in the post that it is pushing a software update to disable the feature and "eliminate all possible inconveniences caused to user privacy under extreme conditions." They have started rolling-out the update, and it will reach all devices within one week, which is just before the May 29 launch of the OnePlus 8 series in the Indian market.