MWC 2025: TECNO teams up with Koç University to advance mobile photography

TECNO, a global technology brand, recently sealed a deal with a research university in Turkey to provide "true-to-life" photos for users.

TECNO Universal Tone

TECNO, Koç University partner for smartphone photography

Under its agreement with Koç University, the partnership seeks to enhance TECNO’s Universal Tone technology, aligned with Turkish consumers’ preferences. Universal Tone is a multi-skin tone imaging solution that was first launched in the market in 2023.

For "true-to-life" images

Fanyi Zhou, director of the Image Quality Testing & Assessment Department at TECNO Image Quality Testing lab, said the collaboration with Koç University will boost their efforts in improving the group’s smartphone imaging. He said this would also give them the advantage "to incorporate cutting-edge research insights into our technology."

TECNO x Koç University

This allows us to customize our camera technology to provide stunning, true-to-life images that celebrate the rich diversity of beauty in Türkiye while staying authentic to individual identities, Zhou added.

Led by Associate Professor Aykut Coşkun, an internationally renowned design researcher and the director of the KUAR research center, the project merges technology with user-centered design.

With a specific focus on understanding Turkish consumers’ aesthetic sensibilities and skin tone preferences, the study utilizing surveys, structured interviews, and field studies, the study will investigate Turkish consumers’ portrait photography habits and preferences, the behaviors and decisions associated with typical photo taking, editing, and posting experience, problems they encountered during this process, and their portrait photography taking experience with TECNO smartphones.

This partnership is an exciting opportunity to bridge academic research with real-world technological innovation. Enabling the exploration and integration of user insights into development efforts in smartphone photography, it has the potential to redefine this process from a user-centered lens, the professor said.

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