Tecno has been advocating improvements in skin tones in smartphone photos since last year, and most recently it announced a campaign against skin tone bias in cameraphones last month.
Today, the company is announcing that it’s partnered with the University of Leeds and Dar Al-Hekma University to enhance skin tone representation for Saudi Arabia.
Tecno will conduct research with the aforementioned universities to ensure accurate representation of Saudi consumers in mobile imaging, and the company says this will solidify its position “as a leader in inclusive smartphone imaging and promoting skin tone diversity”.
Tecno’s AI-powered Universal Tone technology unveiled in 2023 authentically captures “the full spectrum of humanity’s diversity, with a particular focus on emerging markets”, the official press release goes on to state. That focus is no accident, of course, since Tecno has so far been very present and very successful in exactly such markets.
The research done for Saudi Arabian consumers will gradually expand to other countries in the Middle East. Tecno will collect and analyze “a broad spectrum of skin tones in the region”, aiming to “better represent and adapt to the diverse complexions unique to Saudi Arabia and the broader Middle East”.
The company will also work on fine-tuning its image processing algorithms to cater to the characteristics of Saudi and Middle Eastern skin tones.