Zeiss: growing emphasis on smartphones and less on traditional lenses?

Anybody seen this?

www.dpreview.com/news/0308510095/zeiss-says-it-s-not-leaving-the-photo-industry

Short blurb (emphasis added):

“Zeiss has not withdrawn from the photo lens market.

A simple look at www.zeiss.com/consumer-products/int/photography.html or amazon.com shows that we are still promoting and selling our photo lenses.

But we have to face the facts. In the first months of the pandemic, the global market declined significantly and irreversibly. And companies have to adapt.

And, of course, we are bringing our unique expertise to mobile imaging. Because it is also clear that consumers, as well as ambitious and professional photographers, increasingly prefer their smartphones for all-day photography.”

The overall camera market is going to look very different in 5-10 years. IMO, the next decade will see as much (or more) changes than we saw when the industry went from film to digital.

The writing is on the wall since many years
m.dpreview.com/opinion/7372168021/smartphones-killed-the-compact-and-now-they-re-coming-for-entry-level-ilcs
petapixel.com/2022/05/31/smartphone-cameras-will-be-superior-to-slrs-by-2024-says-sony-ceo/
www.techradar.com/news/smartphones-will-kill-off-the-dslr-within-three-years-says-sony

On track to look exactly like I was expecting....tech becomes better and cheaper, more people buy and use it. Businesses follow dollars, not fandoms. I'm not gonna be shocked 40 years from now if photographer as a profession isn't practically dead. There will be no reason to pay anyone because the tech will be too good to need one.

in 2022, a full three years after mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras effectively killed off the DSLR. The only genuine Zeiss product I own is an inherited pair of 1970s East German binoculars (and no, that one at least wasn't used to spot civilians to shoot at). So let's not beat around the bush about what this means either way - they might change what kind of product they bother letting their corporate partners slap their logo on, but Zeiss hasn't really had to care about consumer-grade stuff for a long time.

The front of my Sony RX-100 Mk.VA says Zeiss in two places.

David

We surely live in interesting times when a company has to deny a rumor on Fred Miranda. But I am afraid it does not convince. Zeiss seems more and more to rely on selling expertise and the label and less on making things. Other third party lens makers are doing pretty well at the high end of the current market .