The Realme Ultra concept is one of those very special, rare pieces of tech that you see and think, “that’s so insane I can barely believe it exists.” But there I was holding and using it. It’s more camera lens with a phone attached than it is a conventional cameraphone, and is truly unlike anything we’ve seen in ages.
It’s a concept, for now
When I was taking the Realme Ultra concept phone out of the box, I laughed. It’s something many have talked about over the years, and some big names like Sony have even had a go at something similar in the past, but this was the first time I was having a go with one and it felt wrong, but in a fun, I can’t-beleive-this-is-real way.
I’m not going to call the Ultra concept the most polished, user-friendly camera on a phone I’ve ever used, but that’s not what it’s about. It’s to show what’s possible, and with the right amount of attention to detail, it could become a real thing we can actually buy.
On the back of the Realme Ultra phone (which looks suspiciously like the Xiaomi 15 Ultra) are two regular-looking cameras, a main and a wide-angle, but both use 1-inch sensors making them highly impressive on their own. But right in the middle of the camera module is an unadorned CMOS sensor. It looks just like a camera does when you take off the lens, because that’s exactly what’s been done with the Realme Ultra.
To assemble the lens kit you take a special adaptor plate and lock it into position on the back of the phone. It’s easy to do, and it’s tightened down enough that it won’t break free. Now, the magic happens. Along with the concept phone, Realme had brought along two full-size camera lenses, one for a 3x zoom and the other for a 10x zoom. Both had a fixed focal length with an adjustable aperture and manual focus ring. After lining up the red dots on the lens and adapter and locking it into place, you’re ready to start shooting photos with the most bizarre looking camera/phone hybrid you’ve ever seen.
Taking photos with the Ultra
There is a reason no-one puts a massive camera lens on the back of a phone, it’s because the whole thing becomes really unwieldy. It’s hard to know where to hold the “camera” with the 10x zoom lens attached, because it’s too back-heavy to just hold the phone, and a bit awkward to hold the lens and the phone, and tap the shutter button. It’s even more of a challenge because there’s no optical image stabilization (OIS), only electronic stabilization (EIS), and if your hands aren’t rock steady, it’s hard to keep your subject in frame.
But it’s not impossible, and when you get it right, the results are unlike any photos you’d usually take with a smartphone. Because I was seeing the Realme Ultra concept phone in Barcelona, Spain for MWC 2025, I took the phone and its whopping lens to the famous Sagrada Familia landmark, and took a series of photos from a distance, getting up close with details high off the ground. The manual focus is a challenge, but the results — for a concept phone — are fantastic.
I took various other photos, bringing out some stunning depth of field simply impossible to replicate with a normal smartphone telephoto camera. The manual focus is tricky but rewarding, and the adjustable aperture should mean it’s excellent to use in low light, provided you’ve got a tripod handy. I love experimenting with cameras, and I knew I could have walked around all day trying out the Realme Ultra and its crazy 10x zoom lens. I wasn’t the only one excited by the weird looking phone. We were in a very busy area, and the madness of the camera and its lens attracted a fair amount of attention.
Will it become a real thing?
The Realme Ultra is a concept phone, but there does seem to be a plan to make it a real product in the future. Realme understands it needs to make the whole thing a lot more user-friendly though. The camera app has been adapted with two new options for the 3x and 10x modes, alongside the normal 1x and wide-angle, but there needs to be more stabilization and probably an autofocus mode too. At the moment it’s fun for camera nerds to play with, but everyone else will find it annoying.
The adaptor ring supports any M mount camera lens, but because the software is tailored to the 3x and 10x lenses, it may need additional work to support other lenses that may be attached to the phone. Then there’s the question of both cost and convenience. Carrying a smartphone with a great camera is very different to carrying a smartphone and a host of big lenses, and if you’re splashing out for both a smartphone and lenses, the question of whether to just buy a regular camera and lens will surely arise. All this is why it’s a concept phone, not a real product just yet.
Interestingly, it’s not the only such device at MWC 2025. Xiaomi also showed off a concept phone called the Xiaomi Modular, which uses an unusual magnetic attachment system to hold bigger lenses on the back of a smartphone. It experimented with this concept in the past with the Xiaomi 12S Ultra Concept, a $41,000 monster that the Realme Ultra concept clearly builds on.
The Realme Ultra is exactly the kind of crazy camera phone concept I wanted to see at MWC 2025, and although I’ve no idea if it will end up becoming a products we can buy, after just a short time playing with the massive 10x lens, I can’t wait to have another go.
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