Why do Huawei and Xiaomi keep taking photos of the Moon?

Is the space race between the Huawei P30 and Xiaomi Mi 9 about marketing or technology?

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Why do Huawei and Xiaomi keep taking photos of the Moon?

Published: 8:42pm, 27 Mar 2019Updated: 9:00am, 20 Sep 2019

This article originally appeared on ABACUS

Huawei’s P30 smartphone launch was full of impressive bullet points. It has four cameras on the back. There’s an ultra wide angle lens, a TOF sensor, and a periscope telephoto lens. And then there’s Moon mode.

Taking pictures of the Moon was a big part of their pitch at the P30 launch, with Huawei’s picture vastly eclipsing those from the Samsung Galaxy S10+ and the iPhone XS Max.

Huawei presenting its megamoon at the P30 launch in Paris on Tuesday. (Picture: Screenshot from YouTube)

Huawei isn’t the only one doing this. During the launch of Xiaomi Mi 9, Lei Jun presented their own Moon mode, comparing images with the Huawei Mate 20 and the iPhone XS. (Again, of course, the Xiaomi photo was much bigger and clearer.)

Xiaomi showed off its own Moon shots during the launch of the Mi 9 in February. (Picture: Xiaomi)

We’re used to seeing smartphone makers compare photos of faces, landscapes, or low-light situations. But the Moon is a bizarre new battleground that I’m not sure anyone really asked for. So why are Chinese smartphone makers apparently obsessed with shooting the Moon?

The answer might lie in the technical requirements -- or a bit of cultural history.