OnePlus apologises for turning off the OnePlus 8 Pro’s coolest feature

The much-talked-about ‘X-ray’ mode on the OnePlus 8 Pro has caused quite a stir. The camera filter gives users X-ray vision, to some extent, and has been temporarily disabled by OnePlus.
OnePlus announced the move on Weibo after numerous reports referenced “privacy concerns” around the X-ray filter, (via Abacus News). The ‘Photochrom filter’ is able to see through some materials, including thin layers of plastic.
Take a look at the example from Latvian mobile techy, Ben Geskin. He shows off the Photochrom filter’s ability to show the user the inner workings of an Apple TV box.
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One of the best examples 🤯#OnePlus8Pro Color Filter Camera can see through some plastic pic.twitter.com/UkaxdyV6yP
— Ben Geskin (@BenGeskin) May 13, 2020
The feature on the OnePlus 8 Pro wasn’t really discovered and talked about publicly until last week. While it’s given the phone a shot in the arm in terms of publicity, there are also obvious concerns surrounding the provision of an X-ray mode, however accidental it may be.
YouTuber, Unbox Therapy, showed off the phone’s ability to see through thin layers of clothing. Again, this has the potential to undermine people’s privacy if the Photochrom filter is abused.
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The OnePlus 8 Pro launched last April and thoroughly impressed us in our review. The £799 Android giant has wireless charging, a great camera and tonnes of power. An excerpt from our review reads:
“The OnePlus 8 Pro doesn’t feel like a huge update over its predecessor, and I do hope the brand ditches its ‘T’ line this year and keeps this as the main phone until the OnePlus 9. Or focus on a different market, as Samsung does with its Note series.
“While the overall update isn’t huge, this is an excellent Android phone with one of my favourite displays out there, software that might just be better than Googles and a very respectable camera. The addition of highly-requested features like Qi charging and an IP rating is also welcome, especially as OnePlus has held out against adding them for so long.”