A new smartphone is dividing the internet after a tech enthusiast discovered that you can manipulate its camera to see through certain objects.
Last week (July 12), Nothing released a new budget smartphone, the CMF Phone 1.
The technology company aims to combine accessibility with a leading user experience while “adding fun to a dull industry.”
However, the technology is already causing controversy online after one social media user discovered how to turn your phone’s camera into an “X-ray machine.”
The content creator downloaded a third-party app to access the ‘x-ray camera’ (purely_maxwell/Instagram)
Last week, a user known as @purely_maxwell posted a Reel on Instagram claiming, “We have a problem.”
“Here we have the latest phone from Nothing, the CMF Phone 1 and I’ve been using it for a while now.”
Maxwell went on to say that he didn’t know what either of the phone’s dual cameras meant and that he had searched online for information on how to use them, but had been unable to find any results.
After some more research, the creator decided to download a third-party camera port in the hopes of being able to swap out the camera.
“It appeared to be a low-resolution monochrome camera until I accidentally pointed it at my TV remote.”
In the clip, Maxwell places the camera over the back of his remote control and shows his audience how the CMF Phone’s camera can see through objects.
In another video posted to YouTube, Maxwell explains: “You can see inside. You can see the batteries inside, which you can’t see with the normal camera. But if you switch to the over camera, you can see it.”
To further demonstrate the phone’s power, Maxwell looked through a black garbage bag and gray T-shirt with it.
The YouTuber uploaded the video to social media. (purely_maxwell/YouTube)
The content creator also confirmed that he had not adjusted any additional settings to be able to use the so-called ‘X-ray camera’.
After watching the clip, fans of the tech object flocked to X to share their opinions on the alleged discovery.
A user typed: “Camera evolution is going very fast. Next target for the camera to zoom in on other planet types and find aliens.”
A second joked: “Now I can calculate how many Lays are in a pack.”
“I was thinking of buying the phone just to use this,” wrote another user.
Following the now viral video, Nothing co-founder Akis Evangelidis has spoken out on the issue.
The businessman wrote to X on July 13: “At Nothing we have some of the most knowledgeable and cunning users in the world.
“It’s also fair to say that our popularity gets a lot of criticism. Ultimately, this drives continuous improvement, which benefits users – so we see it as a good thing.”
He said that while there are “hundreds of millions of these camera depth sensors” on the market, this particular CMF Phone 1 user “went one step further and viewed the depth sensor output through a third-party app in developer mode, achieving a transparent effect.”
Evangelidis explained how this works, continuing: “We use triangulation to generate depth of field data by collecting images from the depth sensor and the main camera to create crops and apply blur effects using specific algorithms for portrait mode.
The co-founder of Nothing has spoken out about the situation. (Nothing Technology ltd.)
“Unlike typical cameras, our depth sensor has no infrared light filter, allowing it to capture light better.
“By definition, this includes infrared light, which can sometimes reveal the internal structure of thin or semi-transparent objects, especially those made of black acrylic material.”
He added that while users won’t have access to this “depth sensor output through the Nothing camera app,” he understands the viral clip “may raise some concerns.”
“Therefore, we will restrict third-party apps from accessing the depth sensor output via a software update expected within a week.”