Your smartphone camera isn't quite as impressive as you believe - Rachel Yang episode artwork

EPISODE · Aug 4, 2026 · 6 MIN

Your smartphone camera isn't quite as impressive as you believe - Rachel Yang

from TED-Ed · host TED-Ed

Learn more at https://brilliant.org/TedEd--When the Visualphone VP210 hit the market in 1999, it advertised a never-before-seen feature: a camera. With only .11 megapixels, the Visualphone is a relic compared to modern devices. But while this technology has improved dramatically, engineers are rapidly approaching a hard limit on phone camera quality. So, what's limiting them? Rachel Yang shares a snapshot of how digital cameras work.Lesson by Rachel Yang, directed by Vicente Numpaque, Hernando Bahamon, Globizco Studios.This video made possible in collaboration with BrilliantLearn more about how TED-Ed partnerships work: https://bit.ly/TEDEdPartnerSupport Our Non-Profit Mission----------------------------------------------Support us on Patreon: http://bit.ly/TEDEdPatreonCheck out our merch: http://bit.ly/TEDEDShop----------------------------------------------Connect With Us----------------------------------------------Sign up for our newsletter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletterFollow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/TEDEdFacebookFind us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTwitterPeep us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TEDEdInstagram----------------------------------------------Keep Learning----------------------------------------------View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/why-do-smartphones-need-multiple-cameras-rachel-yangDig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/why-do-smartphones-need-multiple-cameras-rachel-yang/digdeeperAnimator's website: https://www.globizcostudios.com----------------------------------------------Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Michel-Ange Hortegat, Enes Kirimi, Amaury BISIAUX, ND, Samyogita Hardikar, Vanessa Graulich, Vandana Gunwani, Abdulmohsin Almadi, AJ Lyon, Geoffrey Bultitude, Mi Mi, Thomas Rothert, Brian Elieson, Oge O, Weronika Falkowska, Nevin Spoljaric, Sid Chanpuriya, Anoop Varghese, David Yastremski, Noah Webb, Roberto Chena, Oliver Koo, Luke Pisano, Andrea Gordon, Aleksandar Donev, Nicole Klau Ibarra, Jesse Lira, Ezekiel Raui, Petr Vacek, Dennis, Olivia Fu, Kari Teffeau, Cindy Lai, Rajath Durgada Manjunath, Dan Nguyen, Chin Beng Tan, Tom Boman, Karen Warner, Iryna Panasiuk, Aaron Torres, Eric Braun, Sonja Worzewski, Michael Clement, Adam Berry, Ghaith Tarawneh, Nathan Milford, Tomas Beckett, Alice Ice, Eric Berman, and Kurt Paolo Sevillano. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Aug 4, 2026

Embed this episode

NOW PLAYING

Your smartphone camera isn't quite as impressive as you believe - Rachel Yang

0:00 6:04

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

No similar episodes found.

No similar podcasts found.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of TED-Ed?

This episode is 6 minutes long.

When was this TED-Ed episode published?

This episode was published on August 4, 2026.

Can I download this TED-Ed episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.
URL copied to clipboard!