Smartphone manufacturers working on under-display camera tech

guest · Sep 2, 2020

Xiaomi’s under-display camera tech will ship in smartphones next year
Technically it’s the third generation of the technology
August 28, 2020
https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/28/...mera-no-notch-hole-punch-2021-mass-production

Xiaomi intends to start mass-producing smartphones equipped with its under-display camera technology next year, the company announced today. This is technically the third generation of the technology Xiaomi has developed, the company says, although the first and second versions it produced have yet to find their way into a mass-market consumer device. Xiaomi showed off the technology compared to a more traditional hole-punch notch in a video posted to its YouTube channel.

Xiaomi says that the area of the display above the camera has the same density of pixels as the rest of the screen, so it can “perfectly disguise” the selfie camera underneath. Xiaomi adds that the selfie camera itself should match the performance of more typical front-facing cameras.
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Smartphone manufacturers have been teasing under-display cameras for a little while now, but so far the technology is yet to see proper commercialization. Xiaomi and Oppo both introduced the technology back in June last year, and Oppo showed off a working prototype that month at MWC Shanghai.

However, Engadget reported at the time that the effect wasn’t perfect, and that the area of the screen above the camera appeared more pixelated than the rest of the screen.
Vivo had also planned to show its take on the technology in a concept phone at MWC this year [...]
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Xiaomi's third-generation under-screen camera technology, you can hardly see the traces of the camera unless you look carefully. pic.twitter.com/g9iYa1cllA
— Ice universe (@UniverseIce) August 28, 2020
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Xiaomi: Xiaomi unveils 3rd generation under-display camera technology

Xiaomi announced that it will officially kick-start mass production of smartphones equipped with the 3rd Generation Under-Display Camera next year. This marks Xiaomi’s latest strategic step towards the high-end smartphone segment bolstered by the company’s continuous technological innovation.
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Ars Technica: Xiaomi’s “third-generation” under-display camera looks nearly invisible

The days are numbered for smartphone camera notches and cutouts.
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guest · Sep 2, 2020

ZTE Axon 20 5G is the first phone to have an under-display camera
September 1, 2020
https://www.androidauthority.com/zte-axon-20-5g-1148480/

ZTE today announced the Axon 20 5G, its flagship smartphone for the year. The device is most notable for its selfie camera, which is the first to be positioned under the display without a notch or punch hole. ZTE calls it the first “true full display” on any smartphone, though other phones have achieved the same effect using motorized cameras.

ZTE says it developed five core technologies to make the Axon 20 5G’s under-display camera a reality. Working in concert, these five advancements help light penetrate the display and allow the camera underneath to capture pictures. [...]
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The Verge: ZTE announces world’s first phone with an under-display selfie camera

After teasing for a while, ZTE has followed through on its promise to launch the world’s first commercial smartphone with a selfie camera embedded in the display.

ZTE says the under-display 32-megapixel camera has been made possible due to the use of “high transparency material that includes new organic and inorganic films” as well as optimized software algorithms to offset the impact on image quality.
It’s also questionable how much value the feature offers over a hole-punch, a pop-up, or even a notch. But we’ll see.
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guest · Sep 13, 2020

Samsung Could Finally Introduce Under-Display Cameras To Its 2021 Smartphones
September 11, 2020
https://www.ubergizmo.com/2020/09/samsung-galaxy-s21-under-display-camera/

While Samsung was seemingly the first to publicly reveal that they were looking into an under-display front-facing camera, they have yet to release such a solution. Instead, companies like ZTE and Xiaomi have beaten them to the punch, but there could be a good reason for the delay.

According to a tweet by Ice Universe, they are claiming that Samsung will finally have their own solution ready in 2021 and that it could make its way to the Galaxy S21.
The tweet alleges that apparently Samsung has “stricter requirements” when it comes to the camera quality, which is why they have taken longer than the competition to bring their solution to the market.

One of the concerns of under-display cameras is the quality of the image that is being captured. Since the lens would effectively need to shoot through an additional layer of glass, obviously this will impact the image.
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Samsung Display's under-screen camera solution is much ahead of other solutions, and Samsung mobile phones have stricter requirements for under-screen camera effects than other brands. When the two meet, the under-screen camera of the Galaxy S21 is in Schrodinger's cat state.
— Ice universe (@UniverseIce) September 11, 2020
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guest · Sep 27, 2020

How do invisible, under-screen cameras actually work?
And when can you buy a phone with one?
September 26, 2020
https://www.androidpolice.com/2020/09/26/how-do-invisible-under-screen-cameras-actually-work/

Under-display cameras are poised to be The Hot New Feature, following up on the similar success of the in-display fingerprint sensor. It almost seems like science fiction: You can't see the camera, but it can see you. The technology promises to eliminate the last impediment in the all-screen phone dream. But how does it work, and when will you be able to buy a phone with the feature?
Two types of screens
According to Helander, there are two engineering approaches to designing under-display cameras: You either do everything you can to make the entire display as transparent as possible above the camera, or you essentially make tiny transparent holes in an otherwise opaque screen between the pixels. [...]
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Mid-range first, flagships come later
Before this technology can replace the notch or the hole-punch cutout, it needs to be scaled up. And given the sort of engineering costs involved, Helander tells us that, counter-intuitively, we'll see this technology roll out in the mid-range market first.
Right now, sacrifices required when it comes to resolution and brightness mean this technology probably won't be a good fit in the flagship space for a while, where customers expect the very best.

In Helander's estimation, it could be 2022 or 2023 before this technology becomes mainstream, engineering problems are solved, production ramps up, and the feature works its way up and down the market.
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guest · Oct 5, 2020

Disappointed Samsung delays key Galaxy S21 feature until Z Fold 3
October 5, 2020
https://www.sammobile.com/news/disappointed-samsung-delays-key-galaxy-s21-feature-until-fold-3/

What was meant to be the defining feature of the Galaxy S21 series will end up boosting the already ultra-premium Galaxy Z Fold 3, according to a new report out of Samsung’s home country.

Korean sources claim the unprecedented under-display camera (UDC) tech Samsung has been developing for years by now still isn’t production-ready. I.e. it won’t be ready for flow manufacturing by early January, which is when Samsung is expected to begin churning out its next flagships at the latest.
An impossible smartphone design four years in the making
Furthermore, the company still hasn’t even finalized the actual sensor-lens combo meant to power its first such invisible selfie mobile camera.
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Samsung May Skip Its Under-Display Camera Technology for the Galaxy S21 Series Possibly Due to Low Production Yield

Samsung has been hard at work, reportedly developing its under-display camera technology for more than two years.
While there may have been some progress, the company has not been able to effectively mass produce the component, as a previous report stated that Samsung may skip this technology on the Galaxy S21 series due to unnecessarily high costs and low yields.
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guest · Nov 9, 2020

OPPO phone prototype sighted with an under-display camera
November 9, 2020
https://androidcommunity.com/oppo-phone-prototype-sighted-with-an-under-display-camera-20201109/

OPPO is one of those few OEMs that really spend time on research and development. The Chinese mobile OEM has introduced a number of technologies and innovations that we can say are worthy to be given attention or even implemented by other companies.

The latest is that an OPPO smartphone, at least, just a new prototype is ready with the under-display camera technology. This could mean a commercial release may happen soon. OPPO has been working on this one for a while like Xiaomi.
From under-display fingerprint sensor to an under-display speaker to under-display camera, smartphones are becoming more advanced. There is no stopping these OEMs from advancing the smartphone game.
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The phone with under-display camera tech could be known as the OPPO Ace3 but we’re taking things with a pinch of salt.
We can probably expect a Q2 2021 launch.
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guest · Dec 3, 2020

The first phone with an under-display camera goes on sale December 21st
Don't count on finding the Axon 20 5G in the US
December 3, 2020
https://www.engadget.com/zte-axon-20-5g-under-display-camera-135846162.html

You won’t have to wait much longer to buy the first phone with an under-display camera — if you live in the right country. ZTE now plans to release the Axon 20 5G in 11 countries and regions on December 21st, including the UK, European Union, Japan and South Korea. The company didn’t reveal pricing, but said it would be available “soon.”

The centerpiece remains an uninterrupted 6.92-inch FHD+ OLED screen that uses a combination of materials, display syncing and a “special matrix” to hide a 32-megapixel selfie camera. You won’t find a cutout or notch here.
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You can expect a 64MP main rear camera, an 8MP ultra-wide, a 2MP macro cam and a 2MP depth sensor. The 4,220mAh battery is also unspectacular given the size and 5G, although 30W fast charging should help it top up quickly.
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guest · Dec 21, 2020

You can now buy the ZTE Axon 20 5G with its under-display camera
December 21, 2020
https://www.neowin.net/news/you-can-now-buy-the-zte-axon-20-5g-with-its-under-display-camera

ZTE's Axon 20 5G, the first smartphone you can actually buy with a camera hidden under the display, is now available to buy in markets all over the world. The phone comes with a price tag of $449/€449/£419, a fitting price for its otherwise upper mid-range specs.

The star of the show with the Axon 20 5G is obviously its selfie camera, which is hidden behind the display, where you would usually find a notch or hole punch. ZTE implemented a lot of technologies that allow the camera to see through the pixels on the display, in addition to camera algorithms to reduce the effects of seeing through the pixel matrix.
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guest · Dec 21, 2020

mood said: ↑

You can now buy the ZTE Axon 20 5G with its under-display camera December 21, 2020
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The world’s first under-display selfie camera isn’t very good
December 21, 2020
https://www.theverge.com/2020/12/21/22191459/zte-axon-20-5g-under-display-camera-hands-on

In a perfect world, everything would fit under the surface of smartphone displays. That’s been the principle behind the past few years of phone design, at least, ever since the iPhone X escalated the bezel wars with its conspicuous notch.

The latest advancement in the bezel wars is the ZTE Axon 20 5G, which goes on sale today and is the world’s first phone to integrate its front-facing camera underneath the screen.
Companies like Oppo and Xiaomi have been showing off demos for years, but ZTE has beaten them to the punch with the first commercial device.
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In theory, the advantages are obvious. You get an unbroken display that doesn’t need to account for a notch or hole-punch, and you don’t have to build in a motorized mechanism for a pop-up camera module.
Again, if the world were perfect, the camera would just magically exist under the display without compromising image quality on either end.

Readers, the world is not perfect. [...]
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The fact that ZTE finally got a phone like this onto the market is a notable milestone, but I’m not sure who the device is really for. The under-display selfie camera often looks worse and more distracting than a notch, and the image quality is clearly compromised.
It’s ironic that a phone might be more appealing to an audience that actively doesn’t care about its key selling point, but that’s where we’re at with the Axon 20 5G.
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guest · Dec 28, 2020

ZTE Axon 20 5G teardown shows how the world’s first under-display selfie camera works
Two screens stacked on top of one another
December 28, 2020
https://www.theverge.com/circuitbre...down-under-display-selfie-camera-how-it-works

The quest to banish the notch from modern smartphone design has resulted in some pretty clever innovations, the latest of which happens to be the under-display selfie cam on the ZTE Axon 20 5G.

The 32-megapixel camera hiding underneath the screen didn’t quite impress us in our review of the device earlier this month, but it is a worthy sidestep to the hole punch or the pop-up selfie cam we’ve seen in past devices. Now, a new teardown video from YouTuber JerryRigEverything gives us a closer look at how exactly the Axon 20’s under-display camera works.
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It’s a first-gen device, but it’s undoubtedly a signal of where phone design will go in the future, as companies aim to preserve the edge-to-edge display without compromising on notches and cutouts for things like selfie cams and fingerprint scanners.
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guest · Dec 29, 2020

Samsung has a pretty ridiculous idea for getting rid of the punch-hole selfie camera
December 28, 2020
https://mspoweruser.com/samsung-has...-getting-rid-of-the-punch-hole-selfie-camera/

Unlike Apple who has embraced the notch for the last 3 years, most other smartphone OEMs actually hates the visible front-facing camera and has been working for half a decade to get rid of it.

Samsung suggests a movable sub-display internal to the device, and between the camera and the external display, would mean that the camera could be covered and usable screen should be otherwise visible when the camera is not in use, and when the screen is retracted, the camera would have a clear optical pathway without the reduction in quality currently present in under-display cameras.
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In addition, because the camera hole will be hidden, Samsung could enlarge the area, allowing for the inclusion of items such as front-facing flashes, wide-angle cameras and FaceID-style sensors.
The full patent can be seen here.
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Samsung Galaxy S22 might have invisible punch-hole camera

Samsung Korea develops a revolutionary punch-hole selfie camera that is invisible when not in use, thanks to a mechanically moving sub-display.
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guest · Jan 14, 2021

Samsung To First Debut Its Under-Display Camera Tech On A Laptop
January 14, 2021
https://www.lowyat.net/2021/230153/samsung-to-first-debut-its-under-display-camera-tech-on-a-laptop/

Samsung may not be the first to debut an under-display camera for smartphones, but it appears that it would take the honour of introducing the technology to the laptop market instead. Samsung Display, via its official Weibo page, has revealed that an upcoming notebook PC known as the Blade Bezel will be the brand’s first product to feature the camera tech, among other features offered.

Wow ⊙∀⊙! Samsung Display reveals its under-Display camera technology for the first time, which will be used for OLED notebook screens first pic.twitter.com/Fu4Ublvsru
— Ice universe (@UniverseIce) January 14, 2021
Despite revealing the Blade Bezel to be its first device to feature the under-display camera, Samsung did not go into full details of the technology or provide any samples of its imaging quality.
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guest · May 10, 2021

Xiaomi imagines an under-display camera that doubles as a rear shooter
May 10, 2021
https://www.androidauthority.com/xiaomi-rotating-under-display-camera-phone-1224255/

A new Xiaomi design patent details a unique dual-purpose under-display camera design.

The normally rear camera would rotate to point towards the display when required.

The camera can then act as an under-display camera, shooting images through the display.

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We’ve seen some pretty crazy Xiaomi concepts and patents in the past, but this design may take the cake. According to a patent filed in 2020 but recently granted by WIPO (via LetsGoDigital), Xiaomi is developing a new design for a rotating under-display camera phone.

The design details a triple camera array at the rear — similar to the iPhone 12‘s layout — placed in the phone corner. One of these rearward-facing cameras can “rotate” using a motor or magnets to point towards the display. In this configuration, the camera would essentially act as a front-facing under-display selfie camera.
Notably, Xiaomi’s rotating under-display camera patent was filed in 2020 but only recently came to light in April. It’s unclear if Xiaomi’s plans to bring this design to market, or if it’ll settle for a simpler implementation first.
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guest · Jul 27, 2021

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 may come out on top in the under-display selfie camera race
July 26, 2021
https://mspoweruser.com/galaxy-z-fold-3-under-display-camera-selfies/

Under display camera technology is in its nascent stage, but the future of the technology seems bright as the famous tipster Ice Universe appears to be quite optimistic about the technology in the upcoming Galaxy Z Fold 3.

The tipster claims that the under-display camera used in Galaxy Z Fold 3 will be able to take decent selfies, in fact, the picture quality will be the best among several under-display camera phones that will be released this year. However, compared to a normal selfie camera, the under-display camera in the Z Fold 3 cannot produce photos that match the quality of those taken from, say, a Galaxy S21, which has a traditional selfie camera.
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Samsung won’t be the first company to bring the technology as ZTE snatched the title of the first Android OEM to introduce an under-display selfie camera in a smartphone by launching Axon 20 last year. That said, if the selfie camera in the Z Fold 3 comes out on top, Samsung won’t mind losing the title to ZTE.
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guest · Jul 28, 2021

ZTE AXON 30 officially announced with better under-display camera
July 27, 2021
https://androidcommunity.com/zte-ax...ed-with-better-under-display-camera-20210727/

It’s official. The ZTE AXON 30 phone has been announced by the Chinese OEM with a new generation under display camera. The “full-screen trendsetter” is ready to face the future and offer revolutionary user experiences. The flagship mobile device is meant to deliver a strong performance and sustained power underneath that sleek design. After several weeks of teaser, the ZTE AXON 30 is now ready for public consumption. We saw a demo recently and that leak before the product launch and now it’s here.

ZTE Corporation’s new Axon 30 now features an upgraded under-display camera. As the first in the world to make an under-display camera smartphone commercially available,
The new display is better “with further reinforced performance and comprehensive upgrades” as described by ZTE Senior Vice President and Mobile Device Division President Ni Fei in a press release.
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guest · Aug 4, 2021

Oppo announces its second-gen under-display camera technology
August 4, 2021
https://www.gsmarena.com/oppo_brings_its_secondgen_underdisplay_camera_technology-news-50375.php

Today Oppo introduced its new under-display camera technology, two years after building its first working prototype. The company worked a lot to improve the quality of the screen on top and the image quality of the camera itself, resulting in product far more suited for comercial products.

The panel is developed jointly with BOE, one of the major display manufacturers in China. The companies developed an innovative pixel geometry that shrinks the size of every pixel in the area over the camera lens, reaching 400ppi. Oppo also has replaced the traditional screen wiring with a new transparent wiring material, allowing more light through.
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Sadly, the company did not reveal when we’ll see the technology in market-ready devices, which is rather strange.
Source 1 • Source 2 (in Chinese) | Via
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guest · Aug 10, 2021

Xiaomi's Mi Mix 4 packs an under-screen camera in a ceramic body
August 10, 2021
https://www.engadget.com/xiaomi-mi-mix-4-snapdragon-888-plus-under-screen-camera-133605155.html

Just days after Oppo unveiled its latest under-screen camera solution, Xiaomi is now launching a new flagship phone with a similar, if not the same, feature. The Mi Mix 4 is the Chinese company's slimmest ceramic unibody smartphone yet, featuring a 6.67-inch 2,400 x 1,080 screen that stealthily hides a 20-megapixel selfie camera underneath a near-indistinguishable patch of pixels — it's the same 400ppi density as the rest of the panel, albeit with smaller pixels and transparent circuitry thanks to advancements in AMOLED production.

Now that the under-screen camera is seemingly reaching maturity, it serves as a sensible evolution path to the Mi Mix 4. Still, CEO Lei Jun added that if you really care about your selfies, you should stick to phones with punch-hole cameras; but for him, the under-screen camera is good enough.
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guest · Aug 11, 2021

Is the Galaxy Z Fold3's under-display camera as messed-up as you've heard? Take a look
Maybe we'll get used to it...
August 11, 2021
https://www.androidpolice.com/2021/...samsung-galaxy-z-fold3s-under-display-camera/

Samsung had a lot to talk about at Unpacked today with two new phones, two new watches, and yet another pair of earbuds. Even with a packed schedule, Samsung made certain to point out the Galaxy Z Fold3 sports the first-ever under-display selfie camera in a foldable. However, the resolution of the OLED matrix over top of the camera is about a quarter of the surrounding screen. The results can look a bit weird, and Samsung's renders don't really do it justice. Here's what it looks like in real life.

The color being displayed affects the visibility of the camera portal.
My initial impression of the under-display camera (UDC) isn't great—the texture of that low-resolution section of screen distracts me more than a hole punch does. It stands out, as you can see in the demo video below.
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I did find hole punches pretty distracting at first, too, so maybe I'll get used to it. However, the UDC changes so much depending on the color it's displaying.
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guest · Nov 15, 2021

Under-display cameras are slowly getting better
November 15, 2021
https://www.theverge.com/22776271/under-display-selfie-cameras-zte-microsoft-xiaomi

As is often the case with new technology, under-display cameras didn’t make a great first impression. It’s a nice idea in theory, of course — you don’t need a notch or a hole-punch if you can put a selfie camera under the display — but the earliest efforts had some issues.

ZTE’s Axon 20 last year was the first phone to ship with one, and it was bad. The camera quality was incredibly poor, and the area of the screen looked more distracting than a notch. Samsung followed up this year with the Galaxy Z Fold 3, which had similar issues.
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But things are actually getting better. Two newer phones on the market, Xiaomi’s Mix 4 and ZTE’s Axon 30, use a different approach to the technology, and it’s an improvement on the previous generation.

Look at how the Axon 30 compares to the Axon 20 on a white background, which was the most challenging situation for the older phone to disguise the camera in. It’s also much harder to make out than the camera on Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 3: [...]
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Still, the pictures you get are definitely usable most of the time. If you’re not a big selfie person, or if you don’t use your phone for Zoom calls, I think you could get away with it. If those use cases are important to you, though, you should probably stick with a hole punch or a notch.

There’s more to the idea than just reducing the size of your phone bezels, though. We spoke to Steven Bathiche from Microsoft’s Applied Sciences group on how the company is working on under-display cameras for an entirely different reason — so you can maintain eye contact while looking at your screen on video calls.
For that conversation, as well as more on how ZTE and Xiaomi’s phones work in practice, check out the video up top.
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