Huawei Honor 6 Plus first camera samples: see the output from the world's first variable aperture cameraphone

The Huawei Honor 6 Plus arrived with a splash today: a shocking new dual-camera setup offering variable aperture shooting for the first time on a smartphone with no bulky add-on lenses. We've seen dual-camera phones before in devices like the HTC One (M8), but there, the whole point was rather superficial and left a raw aftertaste.

The Honor 6 Plus, however, means serious photography business: it features three 8-megapixel camera sensors in a “symmetrical dual-camera” setup for the main rear cameras plus an additional third 8MP selfie cam. The dual setup is what makes the changing aperture possible, and behind it doing the heavy maths lifting is a dedicated, powerful image signal processor (ISP).

The Honor 6 Plus obviously does some clever tricks to be able to pull that changing aperture, but while we look for more details about how that trick is possible, we have dug up the first camera samples shot on this innovative device. Notice the amazing low-light performance and the change in aperture between pictures (as seen in EXIF reports). Impressive, isn't it?