Smartphone makers are beginning to move away from the notched display and experiment with other applications, such as popup or flip-up camera modules. Just like the ones seen on the OnePlus 7 Pro and ASUS ZenFone 6. OPPO seems to gone a step further – by directly placing the front-facing camera directly underneath the phone’s display.
Video evidence of the alleged feature was first leaked by Brian Shen, vice president at OPPO, via his official Weibo account. As you can see from the Twitter post embedded in this article, the phone shows off what is clearly a prototype device, showing the under-display selfie camera in action. A finger pops into the frame to touch the top of the display, prompting the camera to activate.
For those seeking the perfect, notchless smartphone screen experience – prepare to be amazed. 📲
You are taking a very first look at our under-display selfie camera technology. RT! 🤯 pic.twitter.com/FrqB6RiJaY
— OPPO (@oppo) June 3, 2019
At this angle, the front-facing camera isn’t visible to our eyes. However, as pointed out by Engadget, you can tell that the feature is somewhat legitimate, on account that the person’s finger is actually being shown on the display. Shen however, did say that there are some difficulties at this stage, as placing a camera beneath the display can affect the camera’s optical quality.
As it stands, current in-display applications and features are typically limited to just fingerprint scanning. While it may still be a prototype, it’s clear that OPPO is trying to surpass the competition by being one of the first brands to create a device with such a feature. That said, there’s still no word as to when and if OPPO will make the in-display selfie camera available to the masses.
