Xiaomi, best known for being the Chinese tech company that isn’t Huawei, has made an impact in the last few years due to their phones being more affordable than most while still retaining the features that come with most high-end smartphones. While clearly happy to coast along with that reputation, Xiaomi has been hard at work on technology that might have a significant impact on the production of future smartphones. Under-display cameras have been mentioned in passing for years but it looks like Xiaomi is ready to for them to become more widespread.
Shown off in a brief video, Xiaomi is very pleased with its new tech that covers up the exposed punch-hole notch you’ll see on most modern smartphones. How exactly does this work? Xiaomi has said that the latest version of the tech, now in its third-generation, is able to see through the sub-pixels of the display. The pixels over the selfie camera can “perfectly disguise” the lens, blending it in with the rest of the display while still allowing selfies to be taken without fear of the image being all…covered up, we guess?
While this tech is really cool, there are still some kinks that need ironing out and questions that need answering. Xiaomi hasn’t clarified whether the screen used for this under-display camera tech is OLED or LCD, though we doubt that will matter too much. Oh, and if you zoom in on the footage Xiaomi released, you can make out a faint outline of the camera which one obviously can’t see from the angle used in the promotion video. Even if the camera is still partially visible under the display, it’s still hidden pretty decently… beyond the slight discolouration.
Xiaomi has stated that the technology is ready to be rolled out in smartphones in 2021 but which phones it’ll be included on is still unknown. Odds are Xiaomi’s flagship devices are first on the cards for a camera upgrade.
(Source: The Verge)