I recently took a look at the Xenvo "Ultimate Smartphone Lens Kit," an add-on system designed to enhance your phone's camera capabilities. I purchased this myself; it wasn't sent to me, and I wanted to share my experiences using it. The kit aims to give you both wider angle shots and detailed macro photos using a clip-on lens system. Let's see what's included and how well it works.
Check out the full video on YouTube for more information and examples:
Check out the Xenvo pro smartphone lens kit through my links:
- Amazon: https://amzn.to/431DWvw
- ebay: https://ebay.us/HGf78c
As an affiliate of these shops, I earn from qualifying purchases! It's not about the product linked, but rather the time from the click, which is usually 24 hours.
 |
| The Xenvo "Ultimate Smartphone Lens" Kit packaging. |
What's in the Box?
Opening the box reveals the core components: the lens system itself, which consists of a 15x macro lens and a 0.45x wide-angle lens attachment. It's important to note that the wide-angle piece needs to be screwed onto the macro lens to function correctly; using the wide-angle part alone doesn't really produce a usable image.
 |
| Inside the box: the lens, case, and accessories. |
You also get a plastic clip mount to attach the lens assembly to your phone. Alongside the lenses, Xenvo includes several accessories:
- A small rechargeable LED fill light with a Micro USB charging cable.
- A zippered hard case with a small carabiner attached.
- A quick-release lanyard
- A microfiber cleaning cloth
 |
| Accessories included: light, charging cable, lanyard, cloth, and case. |
Build Quality and First Impressions
The build quality of the lens pieces seem good. They are made of metal with actual glass elements, giving them a solid feel. The plastic clamp mount also feels reasonably sturdy and has rubberized material on the inside clamping surfaces, which helps grip the phone and reduce the chance of the lens shifting position.
 |
| The lens screws onto the plastic clip mount. |
The included hard case is nice for storing and protecting everything, and it has a small mesh pocket inside for the cable or cloth. The lanyard seems okay, though the strap material feels a bit thin.
 |
| The included hard case with carabiner. |
 |
| Inside the hard case, showing the mesh pocket. |
How It Works & Use Cases
The basic idea is simple: you clip the lens assembly over your phone's camera. It's primarily designed to work with your phone's main (standard) camera module to either widen its field of view or allow for close-up macro shots.
 |
| Attaching the Xenvo lens kit to a smartphone. |
My original reason for getting this was to experiment with IRL streaming using a smartphone. I found that all of the streaming apps I tried couldn't access the built-in ultra-wide camera modules on the phones I had (Moto G Stylus 5G and TCL REVVL 5G). I hoped this add-on lens would make the standard camera wide enough for streaming, bypassing that software limitation.
Other potential uses include vlogging, especially using the front/selfie camera, or general photography and videography if your phone lacks a built-in ultra-wide lens. Or if you want to leverage the potentially higher quality of your phone's main sensor.
Wide Angle Functionality
Attached to the standard camera lens, the Xenvo kit does deliver a noticeably wider field of view, as advertised (they claim 0.45x magnification). This can be useful for landscapes, group shots, or fitting more into the frame in tight spaces.
 |
| Comparison: Normal Lens Module vs. Normal + Xenvo Wide Angle. |
The wide-angle lens piece has a standard 52mm filter thread. This means you can attach standard camera filters, like a UV filter for protection, an ND filter for controlling exposure in video, or a polarizing filter to reduce reflections.
 |
| The 52mm filter thread allows attaching standard filters like this UV filter. |
Macro Functionality
The 15x macro lens allows for very close-up shots. To get the best results, you need to position the lens very close to your subject, about half an inch away. It's not meant for zooming in on distant objects.
I did some quick tests, and you can see the comparison below to judge the difference yourself. My specific phone does have its own dedicated macro mode, which I'd likely use instead. But if your phone lacks this, the Xenvo macro lens offers something within the realm of a built-in option.
 |
| Comparison: Normal Lens Module vs. Normal + Xenvo Macro. |
 |
| Comparison: Normal Lens Module vs. Normal + Xenvo Macro. |
 |
| Comparison: Normal Lens Module vs. Normal + Xenvo Macro. |
Vlogging with the Selfie Camera & Light Option
For vlogging using the selfie camera, the wider field of view is definitely helpful. The included "GlowClip" light can also be clipped onto the phone to illuminate your face, especially in darker conditions. The light is rechargeable via Micro USB (a bit dated now with USB-C being common, but not a dealbreaker) and offers three brightness levels. It also has a flashing mode if you long-press the button to toggle that. It provides a continuous light that is less harsh than the built-in light of phones and allows you to use a light toward the screen of a phone. Combining the wide lens and the light makes for a potentially decent, albeit heavy, vlogging setup.
 |
| Testing the vlogging setup with the lens and clip-on light on the front camera. |
 |
| The clip-on light uses a Micro USB port for charging. |
Challenges and Downsides
While the kit works, it's not without its issues. A major drawback is that it doesn't seem to work well, if at all, with phone cases. Even with a relatively thin case on my Moto G Stylus 5G, the added distance between the add-on lens and the phone's camera lens caused noticeable vignetting (darkening in the corners of the image). To avoid this, you likely need to use the lens directly on a caseless phone.
 |
| Example of a phone case that likely won't work well with the lens clip. |
The clip mechanism itself, while secure, is quite large and will inevitably block a portion of your phone's screen, whether you mount it vertically or horizontally. Depending on your phone's layout, it could also interfere with side buttons or even trigger on-screen controls unintentionally. I found on some older phones I tested, it blocked the fingerprint sensor/button on the back.
 |
| The clamp can block rear buttons or sensors on some phones. |
 |
| The clamp partially covers the screen. |
The lens assembly is also quite heavy due to the metal and glass construction. This makes the phone top-heavy and can feel unbalanced, especially when holding it for vlogging. Despite the rubberized clamp, the weight means it can still get bumped and shifted out of alignment with the phone's camera, requiring readjustment.
Image Quality Comparisons & Quirks
An interesting finding came when comparing the Xenvo lens on the main camera module versus my phone's built-in ultra-wide module. Because the main camera module on my phone has a larger sensor and higher resolution than the secondary ultra-wide module (which is common on many phones), the images taken with the Xenvo add-on attached to the main camera actually showed more detail in the center of the frame than the dedicated ultra-wide camera, even though the ultra-wide captured a slightly wider overall scene.
 |
| Comparison: Normal Module | Normal + Xenvo | Built-in Ultra-wide Module. |
 |
| Comparison: Normal Module | Normal + Xenvo | Built-in Ultra-wide Module. |
 |
| Comparison: Normal Module | Normal + Xenvo | Built-in Ultra-wide Module. |
 |
| Comparison: Normal Module | Normal + Xenvo | Built-in Ultra-wide Module. |
However, the built-in ultra-wide lens produced images with less distortion towards the edges (more rectilinear) compared to the standard lens with the Xenvo wide-angle add-on. So, there's a trade-off between center detail and edge distortion.
Out of curiosity, I also tried putting the Xenvo lens on top of the phone's built-in ultra-wide camera module. The result was an extreme fishbowl effect, similar to a security camera, with only a circular image visible in the center of the frame. It might be a fun creative choice, but otherwise not a super useful combination.
 |
| Comparison: Ultra-wide Module vs. Ultra-wide + Xenvo (fisheye effect). |
Is the Xenvo Kit Worth It?
So, is the Xenvo lens kit the "ultimate" solution? I wouldn't go that far. It's a decent kit with good build quality for the lens pieces themselves, and it does provide wider and macro capabilities. The accessories, particularly the light and case, are nice additions, although perhaps they inflate the price unnecessarily for those who just want the lenses. Anything with a built-in battery like the light has questionable longevity.
 |
| All the components included in the Xenvo Lens Kit. |
The biggest hurdles are the fiddly clamp mount, the incompatibility with phone cases causing vignetting, the added weight/bulk, and the potential for the clamp to block parts of the screen or buttons. You really need to be using your phone without a case for the best results.
People with CAD design and 3D printing skills should be able to create a custom phone case for this, but that's an entire project onto itself.
If you don't have a built-in ultra-wide or macro lens on your phone, or if you want to prioritize the image quality of your phone's main sensor while getting a wider view (accepting the additional edge distortion), then this kit could be an interesting option to explore, especially if you're willing to deal with its quirks.
For vlogging with a selfie camera, it offers a noticeably wider field of view combined with a useful light. However, if you value convenience and prefer keeping a case on your phone, the clamp system might be too much of a hassle. It functions, but it's definitely not a seamless experience.