Meitu, the company behind the viral anime app, has launched a smartphone that uses artificial intelligence to enable users to take better selfies. Meitu's T8 phone employs what it calls the Magical AI Beautification feature to detect the user's face, skin tone, gender and age.
Aside from enhancing photos, the smartphone can beautify the subject by whitening their teeth or smoothening their skin. Its front camera uses dual-pixel phase detection autofocus (PDAF), a feature that is also found on Asus ZenFine 3 Zoom and Samsung Galaxy S7.
Like other models with photo beautification feature, the T8 has different levels of which the photo can be adjusted. For example, setting it up to level three gives a more natural look.
The Verge writer Ashley Carman, who made a Meitu T8 phone review, said "The T8 also lets you choose a color filter, which really felt like overkill. Always stick with natural." She added that the effects of the feature can get "intense" but it does give a "baby skin" look to the subject.
Lenovo and Oppo have released their own version of a selfie smartphone last year, but Meitu said theirs is the first to offer DSLR-type photos. Other specs include a 21MP rear camera, a 5.2in AMOLED display, 4GB of RAM and 128GB of ROM, according to Engadget.
The unit runs on a 2.3GHz processor and supports a headphone jack. The product is up on Meitu's website and costs about $479. It is also available on Chinese e-commerce sites Tmall, JD.com and Suning.com. It is still uncertain whether it would make a US debut.
Makers are scrambling to secure their own customer base amid a highly saturated mobile phone market in China. One of their strategies is to target niche markets. Xiaomi, for example, launched the Mi Max last year, a 6.44in smartphone that caters specifically to video game players.