Japanese companies Nikon and Panasonic have stopped making low-cost compact digital cameras and will now focus on more expensive mirrorless cameras.

The reason is partly due to smartphones, which are increasingly focusing on quality cameras. Global shipments of compact digital cameras are down 97% from 2008 to just 3.01 million units in 2021 as smartphone cameras get better and smarter.

Nikon has suspended the development of new compact models of its Coolpix line. Nikon currently only offers two models with quality lenses, but the company is “closely monitoring market trends” to determine future production volumes.

Nikon has already stopped making DSLRs to specialize in high-end single-lens mirrorless models. According to Nikkei Asia, the company will focus resources on mirrorless cameras, which have been made popular by more advanced digital technologies.

Panasonic Holdings “has not launched any new products in the price range below $370 since 2019 and has no plans to develop low-cost models in the future.” “We have stopped development of any new models that can be replaced by a smartphone,” a company spokesman said.

Going forward, Panasonic will produce high quality mirrorless cameras for photography enthusiasts. The company plans to launch a mirrorless camera with the German company Leica Camera.

Previously, Fujifilm stopped production of its FinePix compact cameras. Canon hasn’t released a new Ixy camera since 2017. The Sony Group has also not offered any new compact models under its Cyber-shot brand since 2019, and Casio Computer stopped making Exilim cameras in 2018.

Introduced in July this year, the Nothing Phone (1) smartphone was quite actively discussed on the Web because of its original design and backlight. However, early adopters immediately began reporting screen problems and lagging LED strips.

Now it turned out that buyers of Nothing Phone (1) were deceived by information about the maximum brightness of the screen. According to official data, the maximum brightness of the Nothing Phone (1) screen is 1200 cd/m²but in almost all tests, the maximum screen brightness is less than 700 cd / m². In some tests, it does not even rise to 650 cd / m².

In response, Nothing Phone (1) stated that it would conduct an internal investigation. In addition, the company has changed the peak brightness on the official website settings page from 1200 nits to 700 cd/m.².

Nio, which is known in China for its electric vehicles, intends to develop a new market. They plan to develop and produce smartphones there.

On August 4, the manufacturer registered a division of Nio Mobile Technologies Co Ltd with a starting capital of $100 million. The division is headquartered in Shanghai and co-founders include Nio President Qin Lihong. According to media reports, the company is preparing the first smartphone in 2023, while it will be cheaper than the iPhone. Smartphones are expected to be released once a year.

In addition to smartphones, the new company will sell mobile devices, wearable electronics, hardware solutions for artificial intelligence and communication devices. There will also be software development.

By the way, earlier the Chinese car manufacturer Geely acquired Meizu to also enter the mobile electronics market.