Another Huge HTC Video Leak Shows Off Duo Camera’s Power

By now, we’ve gotten about 500 close looks at the All New One from HTC, the follow-up to the company’s flagship phone from 2013. And even though HTC will be unveiling the phone at an event in New York City tomorrow, another massive leak about the phone has hit the web, this time in the form of a 14-minute video from a German YouTuber going by the name Hans Meyer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEB10wqk1X4

The video goes over the metallic construction of the handset, as well as the functionality of Sense’s Blinkfeed, as well as the double-tap-to-wake feature that we learned about in last week’s leak. That’s right: we have seen so many leaks, we have to specify which one we’re referring back to.

What’s most interesting about the video, though, is that the reviewer takes some time to demonstrate one of the features of the rear-facing Duo Camera, which has arguably been the most intriguing feature about the phone in all the leaks we’ve seen so far. At about the 5:30 mark he starts to show it off, but it isn’t until around the 7-minute mark that you can really tell what he’s doing (unless you understand German, that is). The two cameras on the back give users the option to edit photos on the fly, shifting focus from one subject to another, very much like the Lytro camera and its ability to allow major edits after taking photos.

A leaked Australian advertisement from two weeks ago hinted that the Duo Camera would allow for focus shifting, and seeing it demonstrated is actually really exciting. This features has the potential to really give users the power to take even more professional-looking photos much more quickly. Sure, there will still be inherent weaknesses that come with using a smartphone camera over a DSLR, but the gap between the two types of cameras is continuing to close.

Hopefully when HTC finally, mercifully makes its official announcement tomorrow, we’ll have a release date and pricing information. The camera alone looks like it could be the killer app that makes the HTC All New One among the best Android smartphones set to come out in 2014, if not the best Android handset (sorry Samsung). Don’t be surprised if more and more smartphones start to feature dual cameras to follow in the footsteps of HTC’s innovation.

So this raises a question. What will have more of an impact on consumers? HTC’s powerful looking Duo Camera? Or Apple’s Healthbook app for the iPhone 6? Speaking personally, I want an awesome, futuristic camera way more than I want my phone reminding me to eat my vegetables—but that’s me. What do you think?

[Source: Hans Meyer via Neowin]