Recently, the P20 series phones released by Huawei have become hot topics in the industry, and have become the object of consumers' pursuit. The post-Like three-shot and AI photography masters brought a revolution in mobile photography, which solved the problem that mobile phones cannot be used in dim light and long distances. Shooting high-quality photos of the puzzle. In addition, the aurora Huawei P20 series mobile phones, from purple to blue-green gradient is like a flickering, flowing Northern Lights, called a mobile phone circle's color Revolution'.
What makes me curious is how this cross-border fusion of technology and art is designed. There must be many interesting stories behind it. Recently, I was fortunate to have visited the Huawei Research Institute in Shanghai for an on-site interview with Huawei P20. The series of design team conducted in-depth exchanges and finally found a lot of design stories behind.
1, the end of a large pressure dead people, in fact, it is not simple behind
There is a saying in the photography world that 'Big One Dies,' P20Pro uses Leica's three cameras. The size of the image sensor is 1/1.7 inch, which is 170% higher than that of the iPhone X. Such a large-size image sensor is put on the phone. Bring good imaging results, but it also brings unprecedented challenges to mobile phone design.
Huawei's R&D team revealed that in the early stage of product design, the camera department and ID department had a very intense PK, but after unremitting efforts, they finally realized putting such a big bottom in the mobile phone, while having a very good ID appearance effect.
It is understood that Huawei has made a lot of efforts in R&D. On the one hand, in terms of lens design, from the light source design to the module design, the thickness and size of the module are compressed as much as possible to achieve the ultimate in devices; on the other hand, The challenge lies in the impact of the three shots on the ID. The more holes behind it, the greater the damage to the ID. So what the R&D team needs to do is to minimize the number of holes behind them. Ultimately, the development team and ID team work together to find a solution. , The laser sensor, color temperature sensor is hidden between the two cameras, because the camera's glass cover is black, the equivalent of hidden. In addition, the ID team hides the color temperature sensor in the flash, which saves a hole. Originally a technology, hardware problem, Huawei's designers have achieved their perfect product design capabilities!
Post-Leica's three shots are the most beautiful how to design, but also need to be considered. The previous double shots were relatively simple, either sideways, or vertical, but the three shots were unprecedented, taking into account a variety of ways. The final result is that we now see the design of the 'exclamation mark', that is, two together, the third camera is placed alone, and together it looks like an exclamation mark, and then the flash is down, from big to small, Also let the entire back of the phone look more comfortable. Now look at this 'exclamation mark' design, not only simple and beautiful, more implied shocking camera effects, a double-edged sword.
Optical zoom is another design difficulty, because the optical zoom means that there is a very high degree of protrusion. In order to retain this function while being beautiful, the Huawei R&D team also took a lot of thought. In the end, how did they solve this problem? If the P20Pro's camera looks closely, the inside is divided into two layers, one layer is the black circle. This visually called sandwich feeling, is to visually optimize the high camera, two colors look very short, However, the details are very detailed and the height is still there. This will not only ensure the optical zoom performance, but also make it visually beautiful. 'The head of the Huawei R&D team explained this way.
2, The art of aurora color is very shocking, but the process of using technology is very painful. In addition to Leica three cameras, the aurora color of Huawei P20 series phones is also extremely shocking. The person in charge of the Huawei R&D team revealed that the latest three generations of P series mobile phones are adopted. Metal material, P20 is the first generation after returning to glass. At the time of design, we hoped to make full use of the characteristics of the glass to create a mysterious color, thus creating a totally different feeling from the metal phone.
Huawei's designers seek inspiration from a variety of things: phenomena associated with light in the natural world, such as aurora, dawn; many artists produce works by depicting light, such as Monet's "Water Lilies", "Sunrise"; and even The album cover of "The Dark Side of the Moon" by the British classical rock band Pink Floyd... finally decided to design this gradient of aurora.
According to relevant sources from Huawei, the artistic effect of Aurora Color is very shocking, but the process of using technology is very painful. 'We have in-depth cooperation with the country's top glass suppliers and have tried many different processes on the production line.'
Eventually, Huawei and its glass suppliers realized technological innovation: In the circular space in the plating furnace, ultra-high-speed electrons are used to bombard certain specific core targets, and then form a thin layer on the surface or back of the glass. Nano coating. This is not the hardest part. Huawei's P20 series of aurora technology uses a specific mask to hide part of the ion cloud and allow only another part of the ion cloud to adhere to the glass surface. Nano-scale thickness differences form on the surface of the glass. After this difference is created, the background color is applied again to achieve the feeling of lightness that we see now.
According to Huawei R&D personnel, this principle is the same as the idea of intercepting light from nature. It is like a rainbow. What is the essence of a rainbow? It is the water droplets in the atmosphere that refract light differently, and finally form a multicolored feeling. The aurora color of the P20 series phones is also similar. The colors that look from different angles are not the same, like the mystery of space, but also the flawlessness of the sea. It is interesting that this aurora color is becoming a new fashion trend, and some fashion The bloggers even imitated and dyed their hair with aurora color...3, behind the 0.06 mm story, was the excellence of Huawei's R&D team. In the interview, I heard a '0.06 mm' in the design of the P20 mobile phone. Story'.
During the design process, the product division and the design division had a great deal of disagreement. The reason was that the product division wanted to use a new technology to realize the power-saving appeal, but at the cost of a 0.06 mm thick cell phone. The design team had this for the product department. The demand perception is: Although it is only 0.06 mm, it will affect the mobile phone experience. Once this hole is opened, it will increase by 0.06 mm. There will be an increase of 0.06 mm, which will inevitably affect the final thickness of the mobile phone.
'Non-stop PK, discussion, you say 0.06 mm is not important, we say 0.06 mm is very important. Power saving, power consumption is very important, but the design experience is also very important. After discussing for half a month, the R&D team found A new material that can save electricity without sacrificing thickness.
The 0.06 mm story is a microcosm that shows Huawei's R&D team's excellence in every aspect of the mobile phone, and the pursuit of perfection. What is the difference between a perfect product and an imperfect product? The difference is likely to be 0.06 mm.
In fact, the success of the P20 series handsets is exactly the result of Huawei’s R&D team’s insistence on excellence and pursuing the ultimate spirit. Huawei’s P20 design team leader revealed that the design investment for a mobile phone is significant. Before there is no real machine, it is necessary to do a hand model. The price of a model can buy an ordinary car. The P20 series that is presented before everyone's eyes is probably the design process of four or five rounds. There are dozens of hand boards for each round. Put in.
This investment is only one aspect of Huawei's huge investment in technology. According to Huawei's 2017 annual report, last year, Huawei invested 89.7 billion yuan in R&D. In the most recent decade, this figure was as high as 294 billion yuan. Moreover, Huawei's R&D is The integration of globally advantageous resources, such as behind a Huawei P20 series mobile phone, is the result of the joint efforts of Huawei's researchers around the world. Apart from the Shanghai Institute, there are also Russian Institutes, which are famous for their algorithms, and the French Mathematical Research Center. The Institute of Aesthetics of Paris, the Center for Software Research in India, and the US Institute of Radio Frequency...
I was very touched by the P20 mobile phone creative team of Huawei Research Institute in Shanghai for a long time. I was touched by the Huawei P20 series mobile phone. Huawei's P20 mobile phone is not just a mobile phone, but it is Huawei's huge investment in R&D and numerous R&D personnel's efforts. They strive for perfection, pursuing the ultimate return.