First vivo and OPPO, now another Android brand will offer an external camera lens

2025 saw external camera lenses make a comeback in the smartphone space, as the vivo X200 Ultra debuted an add-on lens to improve long-range zoom. We’ve since seen the vivo X300 Pro and OPPO Find X9 Pro offer an external lens, and now it’s HONOR’s turn to join the club.

HONOR confirmed on Weibo that the upcoming HONOR Magic 8 RSR Porsche Design phone will offer an add-on telephoto extender lens as part of a camera kit. The kit also seems to include a camera grip. Check out the image below.

A closer look at the telephoto extender reveals that it’s a 2.35x converter, much like the vivo X200 Ultra and X300 Pro’s add-on lens. The HONOR phone will offer an 85mm 200MP telephoto camera, which means the add-on lens will enable 200mm (~8.6x) native zoom.

HONOR also posted some sample images taken with the telephoto extender, confirming a zoom range of 200mm to at least 800mm (~33x). You can view some of these pictures below. I thought the 400mm shot of the meerkat was particularly great, although image quality seems to take a major hit at 800mm.

It remains to be seen whether HONOR can avoid some of the pitfalls of a telephoto extender, such as poor image quality in extreme darkness and an awkward installation process. We’re also curious to see whether the add-on lens supports a variety of software features.

I’m nevertheless glad to see more manufacturers offering add-on lenses, even if they’re very pricey in the first place. These lenses enable significantly better long-range image quality, making them ideal for shooting wildlife, cityscapes, and more.