Xiaomi's under-display cameras are coming to smartphones next year

[Joe White]

Why it matters: Xiaomi is set to bring under-display camera technology to its smartphones next year. Although the technology is actually Xiaomi’s third-generation under-display camera, the first- and second-gen models never made it to mass-produced handsets. After years of smartphones featuring either obtrusive notches or cut-out holes, true bezel-less handsets are closer than ever.

Since the iPhone X was launched in 2017, many smartphones have adopted either a camera ‘notch’ or camera-holes to house the handset’s front-facing cameras while providing an edge-to-edge display. The problem, though, is that both of these workarounds have held handset-makers back from offering a true bezel-less smartphone. That is, until now.

Xiaomi’s upcoming under-display tech promises to do just this, providing a camera which is disguised underneath a handset’s display. The company explains how this works by allowing cameras to see through sub-pixels in a smartphone’s screen, mostly masking the camera from view. This means that the front-facing camera can be “perfectly disguised” within the handset’s display, resulting in a far nicer finish.

Xiaomi notes that the screen around the camera should match the “brightness, color gamut, and color accuracy” of the rest of the display. But there’s a possible catch -- Xiaomi also doesn’t mention whether its under-display cameras will support OLED or LED, nor do they mention anything about resolution. As The Verge points out, the hidden camera doesn’t appear to be entirely disguised; a small shadow is visible, which gives the camera’s location away.

Xiaomi may not be the first to arrive to market either. ZTE is due to launch a similar handset on September 1, but it remains to be seen if the device will launch outside of China.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/86560-xiaomi-under-display-cameras-coming-smartphones-next-year.html

 

[QuantumPhysics]

Yeah, that's pretty much exactly what I expected.

 

[Squid Surprise]

I really don’t like bezel-less displays... I like having a place for my fingers to hold the phone ... it especially annoys me while gaming, as it sometimes senses me holding it by the edge as me tapping the edge... causing me to accidentally deploy troops in the wrong places...

 

[theruck]

Ok, now work on getting rid of the rounded corners and edges to get a true rectangular image experience

 

[hk2000]

I really hate that the camera is a must on phones, and I'd hate it more if I cant see there is one!!! What a horrible idea!!

 

[Exabyte]

2019: camera in screen
2020: camera under screen

Its like a small island sinking underwater in a year

 

[Uncle Al]

Interesting to see how they make accommodations for the various colors that show across the top of the lens. If it is a digital optic they could filter it out, although it would probably need multiple passes to distinguish between the colors (filter effect) and like any filtered image, I can't help but believe the photo's are going to be a bit softer than those not filtered. Not to mention the fact that the little dot doesn't show up on regular photo's so what's the big deal with it being there? Sounds a bit too much like the invention of deodorant ... nobody knew they needed it until the makers told them so it so many advertisements!

 

[Hardware Geek]

I don't take selfies and would love a phone with high end specs that doesn't have a selfie camera, but the under display tech is at least better than the punch hole camera on my s10.

 

[Markoni35]

I really hate that the camera is a must on phones, and I'd hate it more if I cant see there is one!!! What a horrible idea!!

Exactly so. Everything related to spying on the customers seems to be advancing relentlessly. At the same time, medicine is going backwards and a flu-like virus stops the world economy.

Now, here's something even more worrying. If you don't like the idea of having an under-display camera on your phone, what about your TV set?

All the latest TV sets are connected to the internet, so adding an invisible under-display camera that turns everyone into a Big Brother star (or maybe into a porn star) seems like a logical idea. Spying on everyone, plus extra blackmail opportunities should it be required in the future.

Not that it will worry the people in Japan too much. I hear that youngsters (especially girls) in Japan are using their phones even during showering. Imagine that. People who are known to be shy use a device with 2 to 5 cameras while showering. If that's not a paradox, what is?

 

[Amariami]

Exactly so. Everything related to spying on the customers seems to be advancing relentlessly. At the same time, medicine is going backwards and a flu-like virus stops the world economy.

Now, here's something even more worrying. If you don't like the idea of having an under-display camera on your phone, what about your TV set?

All the latest TV sets are connected to the internet, so adding an invisible under-display camera that turns everyone into a Big Brother star (or maybe into a porn star) seems like a logical idea. Spying on everyone, plus extra blackmail opportunities should it be required in the future.

Not that it will worry the people in Japan too much. I hear that youngsters (especially girls) in Japan are using their phones even during showering. Imagine that. People who are known to be shy use a device with 2 to 5 cameras while showering. If that's not a paradox, what is?

This is Logical fallacies; Appeal to Authority.
contradicting yourself.

 

[Markoni35]

This is Logical fallacies; Appeal to Authority.
contradicting yourself.

Care to explain? Which authority did I mention? I just pointed out that spying is already happening, and under-display cameras will make it even worse.

TV sets are already listening to their users (or at least algorithms that are running on the servers owned by TV manufacturers). If a device has a camera, whether it's a smartphone, TV set or laptop, pictures from the camera are being sent from time to time for unknown purposes. If the camera can be planted under the screen, then you can't even block it anymore (without reducing display usability).

Spying is #1 business today. Just take a look at those "enable cookie" dialogs (which are mandatory in EU), where hundreds if not thousands of marketing (and other) organizations are informed about any action you do on that particular site. It's just crazy how many people are interested what are YOU doing (or any other visitor). And all that info is cross-referenced with all other sites that you visited.

Did you really think all those "free" Google apps are freeware because of the goodness of their heart? It's all about spying and creating a virtual profile of every computer/smartphone/smartTV user on the planet.

But I still can't remember I mentioned any authorities.

 

[Amariami]

Care to explain? Which authority did I mention? I just pointed out that spying is already happening, and under-display cameras will make it even worse....

duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=logical+fallacies&atb=v237-4__&ia=web
*too long to type