The DxO One, one of the best smartphone add-on cameras ever made, won’t live past the first generation. After entering bankruptcy earlier this year, DxO Labs announced the discontinuation of the DxO One on Wednesday, June 6.
DxO Labs stopped selling the DxO One in March, but the company’s distributors will continue to sell the camera until supplies run out. Distributors will also continue to offer support for current users of the camera. The camera is currently available from a handful of retailers, including B&H and Best Buy.
The discontinuation means that DxO Labs will no longer develop firmware for the DxO One, software updates that have expanded the compact camera’s features several times since the launch in 2015. Updates added features like the ability to shoot without a physical connection to the iPhone and the option to stream to Facebook Live. While the camera won’t see any updates directly from DxO One, the company isn’t yet out of the bankruptcy process and may share additional details on firmware updates after legal proceedings.
While the company plans to emerge from the bankruptcy in a few months, the legal proceedings allow it to restructure, creating a new focus on software and ending the company’s hardware venture. DxO Labs says it doesn’t have plans to design another generation of the DxO One in the future.
Instead, the company is redirecting focus on four software programs: DxO PhotoLab, the DxO ViewPoint, DxO FilmPack and the recently acquired Nik Collection. The company announced updates to the Nik Collection and DxO Photo Lab today, bringing updated compatibility to the plugins bought from Google while adding some of that tech into DxO’s original software.
The DxO One is a standalone camera that uses a smartphone to access the camera’s controls. Unlike other attempts to add a larger sensor and brighter lens to a phone, the DxO one used a physical connection to the camera for performance compared to Wi-Fi-only add-on cameras. The One originally launched with a Lightning connector for use with iOS devices, and late last year DxO launched an early access for an Android version.
DxO Labs filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on March 7. In a statement earlier this year, the company said they expected the bankruptcy to be brief and suggested the proceedings wouldn’t impact customers. Last year, DxO Labs split from DxO Mark, the side of the company that tests and analyzes camera sensors and lenses., including smartphone cameras.
