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OnePlus 8 Pro’s color filter camera to be disabled via update

AndroidPIT oneplus 8 pro see through remote
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Last week, it was revealed that the OnePlus 8 Pro's camera can make some materials invisible, creating a creepy X-ray effect. Now, OnePlus has announced it will temporarily disable the color filter camera on its latest flagship phone via an upcoming software update.

Update: sensor will only be switched off in China

Last night, we received an email from OnePlus in which the manufacturer responded to this article about the deactivation of the color filter on the OnePlus 8 Pro. The manufacturer confirmed that it is not deactivated the color filter via a software update in Europe or North America, but only in China.

The OnePlus statement in full:

"We have decided to temporarily disable the filter on HydrogenOS because we are very careful about incorrect and misleading information that is spread on social media in China. However, we do not plan to disable this filter on OxygenOS, our global operating system."

As we reported at the tail end of last week, the OnePlus 8 Pro's color filter camera can create some very unusual special effects. What is going on here is essentially infrared photography. That means you can see through materials that are not transparent to the naked eye but are transparent to infrared light.

oneplus 8 pro seethrough note
This is the level of transparency the OnePlus 8 Pro's color filter camera can achieve. / © NextPit

It should be noted that OnePlus' original intention was not to create an X-ray camera for its new smartphone. The marketing around the color filter camera was centered on being able to apply certain false-color camera filters to shots taken on the phone. Much fuss was made of the ethical and moral issues around allowing consumers to walk around with what turned out to be a pretty creepy feature, and OnePlus has decided to respond to the uproar. OnePlus said that the update to disable the color filter camera will be distributed in China within a week.

You can still participate in our poll about whether or not you think the feature is too freaky below:

Do we really own the hardware we buy?

Once again this raises the question of whether or not we truly own the tech products we buy. We have written about this subject in detail on AndroidPIT, but put yourself in the shoes of a OnePlus 8 Pro owner here. You bought a product with a camera feature that is now being taken away from you after the sale.

That doesn't seem fair to us. Should OnePlus 8 Pro owners be compensated for the loss of their color filter camera? Or is this just the modern tech consumer world we live in now? Have your say below the line.

Via: XDA Developers Source: Weibo

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David McCourt

David McCourt
Editor

David enjoys staying abreast of the latest technology and newest Android apps. Outside of the office, he can be found playing snooker and writing bad 00s indie songs.

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4 comments
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  • 4
    Williem_S04 Jun 1, 2020 Link to comment

    It is temporary. There working to fix the Photochrom filter so it won’t present any more privacy issues.


  • 20
    Reg Joo May 24, 2020 Link to comment

    I'm sure, even in China, some dev will find a way to re-enable that feature. They better not get caught though.


  • Rusty H. 33
    Rusty H. May 20, 2020 Link to comment

    Turn off updates, problem solved.


  • marco sarli 39
    marco sarli
    • Admin
    May 19, 2020 Link to comment

    No we do not own the hardware we buy. The companies producing the hardware own us (and we pay them)

    Jerry's W.

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