Originally posted by malcolmjdavis How is the curved sensor used in products? I am not aware that Microsoft makes many camera products except for computer cams.
A curved sensor can be used just like a non-curved sensor but it requires special lenses built to focus images at that curvature.
As the article notes, it's easier to create compact, very high quality, large aperture lenses for a curved sensor than for a flat sensor because the simplest designs for lenses tend to have a curved plane of focus.
What the article did not say is that each focal length of lens has a different best curvature so the concept is less suited to interchangeable lens cameras.
Thus curved sensors are most likely to see use in fixed-lens cameras such as smartphones or maybe the Ricoh GR.