Under-display Camera Archives - Gizmochina

Oppo patents rollable phone with an under display camera

Sean — Mon, 17 Apr 2023 13:09:38 +0000

Oppo is apparently working on a new smartphone that features a flexible display. But this model doesn’t feature a foldable screen like the Find N2 and the Find N2 Flip, rather it features a rollable display panel. So let’s have a look.

The Chinese smartphone maker’s rollable display features some notable design elements. The new patent was spotted by 91Mobiles who spotted the document on CNIPA. While this isn’t the first time we have seen a smartphone with a rolling display. With this new display technology, users can change the form factor of the device with a single touch, which is different from the foldable smartphones that are sold in the market right now.

The patent carries a basic description of the product along with design sketches of this upcoming smartphone. Here, we can see that the device appears to have a camera module on the rear with an LED flash. Although, this module is housed between two parts of the rear panel, which is joined together with the rollable display and its supporting structure. However, there is no selfie camera on the front, or any visible cutouts to house such a sensor. So it is possible that the rollable smartphone may feature an under display camera.

Apart from this, finer details regarding this futuristic Oppo device like its specifications are still unknown. Other notable design details include, volume rockers and the power button on the right side, with a USB Type C port and speaker grille found at the bottom. Keep in mind that this is still just a patent and it is unclear if the company is actually working on such a smartphone at the moment. So stay tuned for more updates.

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Nubia Z50 Ultra Flagship Smartphone Goes on Sale in China; Price Starts at 3,999 Yuan ($584)

Jeet — Tue, 14 Mar 2023 02:20:32 +0000

ZTE-backed Nubia recently announced its flagship Z-series smartphone in its home country China, dubbed Nubia Z50 Ultra, which features top-of-the-line specifications and an under-display camera.

Today, the Nubia Z50 Ultra flagship smartphone is officially available for purchase in the Chinese market, with a starting price of 3,999 yuan which roughly converts to $584.

Nubia Z50 Ultra

The smartphone’s base model with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage costs 3,999 yuan (~$5824), while the 12GB RAM and 256GB storage model is priced at 4,299 yuan (~$627). The 12GB RAM and 512GB storage version is available for 4,699 yuan (~$685), and the 16GB RAM with 1TB internal storage model costs 5,999 yuan (~$874). There’s also a Star Collection Edition with 12GB RAM and 512GB storage, costing 4,999 yuan (~$729).

Coming to the specifications, the Nubia Z50 Ultra features a 6.8-inch OLED display that offers a Full HD+ screen resolution of 2480 x 1116 pixels, a refresh rate of 120Hz, a touch sampling rate of 960Hz, 1440Hz PWM dimming, peak brightness of 1500 nits, 10-bit colors, and a 100 percent DCI-P3 color gamut.

Under the hood, the device comes powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, coupled with LPDDR5x RAM and UFS 4.0 internal storage. There’s a 4212mm2 large vapor chamber liquid cooling system to keep the phone’s temperature in check when it’s under a heavy workload.

In the camera department, there’s a 35mm 64-megapixel Sony IMX787 primary camera sensor with OIS support, an 85mm 64-megapixel periscope zoom camera with OIS support, and a 50-megapixel ultra-wide camera, which also doubles up as a macro camera.

The phone’s highlight remains a custom-made 16-megapixel OmniVision OV16E1Q under-display camera with a 2.24μm super large pixel size. The company said that the light transmittance has increased by 30 percent, allowing the phone to capture better selfie shots than before.

It comes with a dual SIM card slot, 5G, Wi-Fi 802.11ax, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC, an IR blaster, an X-axis linear motor, and a USB-C port. The device runs the Android 13 operating system with MyOS 13 custom interface. The phone is powered by a 5,000mAh battery with 80W fast charging support.

Apple iPhone 15 to reportedly have a true punch-hole display with hidden Face ID sensors

Jeet — Wed, 23 Mar 2022 02:42:43 +0000

Apple is gearing up to launch the next-generation iPhone 14 series smartphone later this year in the market. Ahead of the launch, some key details about the upcoming iPhone models have leaked online.

Now, a new report coming from South Korea-based The Elec reveals details about the design of the Apple iPhone 15 which will get launched next year.

It is being claimed that the next year’s iPhone 15 will have an OLED display and the Face ID sensors won’t be visible as they will be tucked inside the screen. This means that it will be a true punch-hole display smartphone from Apple.

The report adds that the Cupertino-based technology giant will rely on Samsung’s under-panel camera (UPC) technology that made an appearance with the internal screen of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3.

However, there are reports that the South Korean company is developing a new under-display camera technology along with OTI Lumionics which should debut with the Galaxy Z Fold5 smartphone as the Galaxy Z Fold4 will use the current technology.

The Apple iPhone 15 will only have the front-facing camera visible which will result in the smartphone looking at what the majority of the Android smartphones have been design-wise from the past few years. Also, it is being speculated that this major design change could be only for the iPhone 15 Pro models and not the regular ones.

The upcoming Apple iPhone 14 series is expected to have four models — iPhone 14, 14 Max, 14 Pro, and 14 Pro Max. The Pro models are expected to come with a dual pill-shaped cutout for the front-facing camera and Face ID sensors but the non-Pro models will continue to have a notch on top of the screen.

Further, there are reports which claim that only the iPhone 14 Pro models will come with an Apple A16 Bionic processor while the regular models will continue using the A15 processor while there will also be differences in terms of the memory technology.

Motorola Edge X30 Under Screen Edition teaser hints at 512GB storage model

Jeet — Mon, 14 Mar 2022 04:15:03 +0000

Last year, in December 2021, Motorola took the wraps off the Moto Edge X30 flagship smartphone as the world’s first smartphone to come powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC.

Now, the Lenovo-owned company is gearing up to launch a new variant of the phone, dubbed as Motorola Edge X30 Under Screen Edition, which will feature an under-display camera. Ahead of the launch later this week, teasers are revealing some key details.

A new teaser poster of the Motorola Edge X30 Under Screen Edition smartphone shared by the company hints that the device will have a model that will pack 512GB of internal storage. For those who are unaware, the regular Edge X30 smartphone is offered in only two internal storage options — 128GB and 256GB.

The smartphone is likely to feature a 6.7-inch OLED Full-HD+ display with a 144Hz refresh rate and a 576Hz touch sampling rate. It will offer a 100 percent DCI P3 color gamut, HDR10+, and an in-display fingerprint sensor.

Under the hood, the device will be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC, coupled with up to 12GB of RAM. In the camera department, it is likely to have a triple-camera setup with a 50-megapixel primary sensor.

On the front side, the smartphone will be featuring a 60-megapixel snapper and will also have support for facial recognition. The phone will be running the Android 12 operating system and powered by a 54,700mAh battery with support for 68W fast charging.

Moto Edge X30 Under-Screen Camera Edition teased; expected to launch soon

Jeet — Fri, 21 Jan 2022 04:30:15 +0000

Last month, Lenovo-owned Motorola launched its latest flagship smartphone in the form of Moto Edge X30, making it the world’s first smartphone to come powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset.

One of the company’s executives has taken to Weibo to share an image of the retail box of an upcoming smartphone which is a special edition for the Moto Edge X30 featuring an under-display camera sensor.

The upcoming smartphone, dubbed Moto Edge X30 Under-Screen Camera Edition, is expected to get officially launched soon in the Chinese market given that the phone has been teased by Chen Jin, General Manager of Lenovo’s China Mobile Phone Business.

However, apart from the image of the retail box, there’s nothing known about the smartphone, including its launch date, availability, specifications, or pricing but we expect more information to surface online in the coming days.

While the specifications remain unknown, we expect them to be the same as the original model. The phone will come with a 60-megapixel front-facing camera sensor and will become the first Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1-powered smartphone to have an under-display camera sensor.

It may continue to feature a 6.7 inch OLED Full-HD+ display with a 144Hz refresh rate and a 576Hz touch sampling rate. It will offer a 100 percent DCI P3 color gamut, HDR10+, and an in-display fingerprint sensor.

Under the hood, it will be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC, coupled with up to 12GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage. On the backside, there will be a triple-camera setup with a 50-megapixel primary sensor. The phone will be running the Android 12 operating system and powered by a 5,000mAh battery with support for fast charging.

ZTE Axon 30 5G Review: The Budget Under-display camera phone

Paco Zheng — Tue, 31 Aug 2021 09:56:52 +0000

ZTE was the first manufacturer to mass-produce an Under-display Camera phone. And recently, the brand launched the latest generation of Under-display Camera phone— the AXON 30. We all know that the performance of the first generation Under-display Camera on Axon 20 was not perfect. So can the Axon 30 finally give us a complete full screen experience?

Let’s find out!

ZTE Axon 30 Review: Under Screen Display Camera

The experience of using this screen is excellent most of the time. Because there is no hole-punch, the full screen is particularly good when watching videos.

The front camera area performs almost identically to the other areas at normal viewing distances. So performance of the new generation Under-display Camera is much better than the Axon 20, and it’s finally a usable technology.

But! Be warned, if you’re being fussy, there’s a lot more to talk about this screen.

Why?

Well, the display is not really perfect. Not to mention that this screen can’t do 2k resolution. Since it has to add an Under-display Camera, it uses RGB Delta pixels, so the detail is a bit lower than Diamond-like pixels.

Secondly, there will be rainbow lines in the oblique view, and the Under-display Camera area will be easily visible under the influence of these rainbow lines. Even if you look at it from the front, some traces of the Under-display Camera can still be seen, at close range.

In low brightness, this will be even more obvious. Further, In extreme cases, you’ll find the appearance of tiny text around the Under-display Camera area. Since the chip controlling the Under-display Camera area can only control multiple pixels with a single circuit, the text edges will appear noticeably jagged. Of course, these drawbacks are rare in everyday use, so whether you would give up some high-end screen features for a full screen is entirely up to your own preference.

Axon 30 Review: Selfie Camera Quality

Now that we have talked about the quality of the screen, it’s time to talk about its front camera photo quality. If you’ve seen our MIX 4 Hands on Review, you’ll know how bad the Under-display Camera can be. Thanks to the AI processing, the front camera’s photo results are at the passing line. Although many details of the image have been lost, but at least the look and feel is not bad. But when it comes to video recording, which AI can’t handle, it’s probably only a little better than a laptop’s camera. So users who like to take selfies should choose other phones.

ZTE Axon 30 Review: Hardware & Gaming Performance

The Axon 30 features the Snapdragon 870 as its SOC, which we all have come to love. In Antutu Benchmark it scores 688,114, while in 3D Mark it gets a score of 4223, and in Geekbench 961 in single-core, and 3081 points in multi-core.

The Benchmark performance is conservative, but the gaming performance is not bad. PUBG basically runs at full 60fps throughout. While Genshin Impact does not run at full 60 fps, the frame rate curve fluctuates less and there is no frame lock. The average frame rate of 40.7FPS will still ensure a good gaming experience. Brightridge also performs similarly and has good temperature control. If you’re not looking for extreme frame rates, this phone is still pretty good for gaming.

ZTE Axon 30 Review Gaming

ZTE Axon 30 Review: Rear Cameras

The two large circles in the middle of the camera housing are inspired by the lights of a sports car. The top one is the 64MP IMX682 main camera, and the bottom circles are the 8MP Ultra wide lens, Macro lens and Depth lens respectively.

Main Camera

The main camera performs quite well in the daytime, with bright colors and the samples being clear. At night, the dynamic range is lower in normal mode and the details in the dark are no longer clear. But night mode improves this problem significantly and gives you very good photos at night.

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Ultra-wide camera

Ultra-wide lens and main camera tuning are basically the same, so it has the same problem at night. However, since Ultra wide lens does not have night mode, try to choose a place with better light for taking wide-angle photos at night.

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Macro Camera

The Macro lens of Axon 30 performs beyond our expectations and is much better than the Macro lens of other phones. The image quality is very good and the usability of the photos is very high.

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ZTE Axon 30 Review: Battery & Charging

The Axon 30 comes with a charger in the box, and the phone’s maximum charging power is 65w without wireless charging. It charges to 22% in 10 minutes, 65% in half an hour, and it takes 50 minutes to 100%. Although the body only weighs 189g, it comes with a plastic back and features a 4200mAh battery capacity in exchange. Half an hour of Tiktok consumed 6%, half an hour of 1080p video consumed 4%. One PUBG game dropped the charge further by 11%, while in Genshin Impact the phone lost 12%, and in Brightridge 13%. With this battery life, it looks like if you want to use this phone for an entire day without charging, then you must use your phone less.

Battery Life Usage Chart

ZTE Axon 30 Review: Verdict

So Why did ZTE release the Axon 30 as a phone? Because I think ZTE has big dreams. It set the starting price for a phone with the latest generation of Under-display Camera technology at $500. It’s obviously to popularize this new technology and make more people appreciate how enjoyable it is to have a full screen. We have to thank ZTE for providing an option for those who like to try something new and are on a budget.

So that’s all about our quick review of the ZTE Axon 30!

Vivo patents phone with a detachable in-display camera module

Sean — Fri, 27 Aug 2021 12:44:05 +0000

Vivo has recently been granted a patent with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The patent is for a new and innovative design that showcases a smartphone that features a detachable under display selfie camera module.

The Chinese smartphone maker’s patent (Via MySmartPrice) describes an in display camera module that can be removed from the body of the handset. This detachable camera odule will slot into one of the top corners of the smartphone, allowing it to be seamless with the body without any visible bulge. Furthermore, the device will still offer a full front screen experience with or without this module being attached with it. Under display camera technology is already a reality and has been available in the commercial market for a while now. So the design, while innovative, isn’t exactly outlandish.

Although, the patent is quite detailed with schematics revealing a release mechanism that allows users to detach the camera unit. Additionally, it also describes two moving procedures that lets the module rotate outwards to serve as a typical selfie shooter. The module itself will house its own lens element and will be independent from a lens attached to the display. In other words, it would work functionally similar to a pop up cameraWhile the design is interesting, its practicality and use is still questionable. Having a removable camera might be useful as it can act as a remote camera that one can place and take images from by controlling it from their smartphone. Although, it is unknown if the module supports any wireless receivers. Keep in mind that this is just a patent at the moment, and could just be the company’s attempt to cover all bases.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 lacks an under-display camera for this reason

Sudarshan Ravichandran — Thu, 12 Aug 2021 09:25:25 +0000

Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Z Flip3 and the Galaxy Z Fold3 yesterday. Both the devices can be considered as a minor upgrade over their predecessors. The latter handset is also the first Samsung smartphone with an under-display camera. Interestingly, the former lacks this tech. If you are wondering why, here’s what the company has to say about it.

The Galaxy Z Fold2 features a 10MP punch-hole camera for its primary foldable display. On the other hand, the newer Galaxy Z Fold3 arrives with an inferior 4MP camera for the same screen. However, the sensor resides under the display.

Although the quality of this camera is said to be subpar as per the initial impressions of the people who got a hands-on it, there begs a question why the Galaxy Z Flip3 lacks this tech.

As per Samsung representatives (via SamMobile), the Galaxy Z Fold3 has an ideal form factor for an under-display camera. In other words, a larger screen like the 7.6-inch foldable canvas found on the Galaxy Z Fold3 is required for implementation.

That’s not all, the reps also say that selfies are more important on the Galaxy Z Flip3. Hence, it comes with a regular 10MP punch-hole camera. This clearly suggests that Samsung knows that its first-gen under-display camera is definitely not up to the mark.

Anyway, since technology improves as it ages with new iterations, we may get to see a Galaxy Z Flip smartphone with an under-display camera in a not-so-distant future.

The post Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 lacks an under-display camera for this reason appeared first on Gizmochina.

Xiaomi Mi MIX 4 display panel leak showcases screen with new flexible CUP technology

Jeet — Wed, 04 Aug 2021 05:04:11 +0000

Xiaomi has confirmed that it will be hosting an event on 10th August in China at 7:30 PM local time to launch its latest flagship smartphone — Mi MIX 4. It will be the brand’s first smartphone to feature an under-display camera sensor.

Now, ahead of the official launch, some key details about the smartphone have surfaced online. It is said that the Mi MIX 4 will come with an all-ceramic unibody design and have support for ultra-wideband (UWB) technology.

https://www.gizmochina.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Mi-MIX-4-Screen-Panel-Leak.mp4

Soon after the announcement from the company related to this upcoming launch, Digital Chat Station shared a video of the smartphone on Weibo showcasing the phone’s screen panel that uses the new flexible CUP technology, under-display camera, and more.

It is being claimed that the upcoming Xiaomi Mi MIX 4 is the world’s first proactive solution for flexible curved screens. The device is using hyperboloid screens that are said to be more pleasing to the eyes than the four-curved screen.

The leaked video shows that the front-facing camera sensor is placed in the middle of the screen and its implementation is such that there’s no visible difference between the result of the front-facing camera and the main camera.

Reports indicate that the Mi MIX 4 will feature a 6.67-inch Full-HD+ curved OLED display offering a high refresh rate. Under the hood, the device will come powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 or Snapdragon 888+ SoC, coupled with 12GB LPDDR5 RAM and 512GB UFS 3.1 storage.

As per the TENAA listing, the phone could also be available in 8GB RAM + 256GB storage variant along with 12GB RAM + 256GB model. The company is also expected to use Micron’s LPPDR5 uMCP solution on this device.

The phone is expected to have a triple-camera setup on the back. It could feature a 50-megapixel Samsung GN1 primary camera sensor, a 48-megapixel ultra-wide sensor, and a 48-megapixel telephoto lens. It is now confirmed to run MIUI 12.5 operating system based on Android 11. The device could be powered by a 5,000mAh battery with support for 120W fast charging technology.

OPPO teases next-generation under-display camera technology offering Perspective Panoramic Screen

Jeet — Tue, 03 Aug 2021 04:43:00 +0000

With the advancement of technology, smartphone makers are now launching devices with unique features, such as under-display cameras and foldable screens. But there are only a handful of brands with such phones in the market.

ZTE recently launched its second smartphone with an under-display camera — ZTE Axon 30 which went on sale in China today. Xiaomi is gearing up to launch Mi MIX 4 with such technology and now OPPO seems to be next in line for launching a device featuring an under-display camera technology.

OPPO has now teased its next-generation under-display camera technology adding that the company never stopped exploring a more immersive display experience. It hinted at Perspective Panoramic Screen that is a combination of three technologies.

The company also added that more details about this will be revealed tomorrow, i.e. on 4th August. Liu Bo Bobee, President of OPPO China said that the technology has been in the works for over two years.

As per the reports, OPPO has used a custom display and a custom camera sensor for this new technology. It has also optimized the algorithm for optimized performance, including white balance, HDR, and AI defogging. We expect to know more about this new technology from the brand in the coming days.

OPPO isn’t the only smartphone maker that has a device with an in-display camera sensor in the pipeline. As noted, Xiaomi is gearing up to launch its Mi MIX 4 later this month while Samsung will be launching Galaxy Z Fold 3 with similar tech on 11th August. Honor, which became independent from Huawei earlier this year, is also set to launch its flagship smartphone with an in-display camera technology later this year.

Xiaomi Mi MIX 4 leaked images showcase smartphone with under-display camera

Jeet — Tue, 03 Aug 2021 04:16:21 +0000

Xiaomi is gearing up to launch its new Mi MIX series smartphone — Xiaomi Mi MIX 4, marking the return of a MIX series smartphone after a gap of around three years. The device could get launched in China on 10th August.

Rumors indicate that the upcoming Mi MIX 4 will debut as the company’s first smartphone to feature an under-display camera sensor. Now, photos of this upcoming device have surfaced online which are allegedly obtained from the supplier’s factory.

The leaked images showcase the upcoming smartphone from Xiaomi which is in line with the previous leaks. The device is expected to have three sensors placed under the screen — fingerprint, camera, and light.

The company is said to be using a new generation of under-display camera technology and the sensor seems to have been placed in the middle of the screen. The bezels surrounding the display panel are quite narrow to offer an immersive full-screen experience.

As the company has opted for an in-display camera sensor, it won’t be possible to offer a 2K resolution screen and thus, the Mi MIX 4 will have Full HD+ screen resolution. But it is said to have better results compared to the regular 1080p panels.

Xiaomi Mi MIX 4 Concept Render

Based on the previous reports, the phone will feature a 6.67-inch Full-HD+ curved OLED display offering a high refresh rate. Under the hood, the device will come powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 or Snapdragon 888+ SoC, coupled with 12GB LPDDR5 RAM and 512GB UFS 3.1 storage.

In the camera department, it is expected to have a triple-camera setup on the back. It could feature a 50-megapixel Samsung GN1 primary camera sensor, a 48-megapixel ultra-wide sensor, and a 48-megapixel telephoto lens. The device is said to be powered by a 5,000mAh battery with support for 120W fast charging technology and is now confirmed to run MIUI 12.5 operating system based on Android 11.

ZTE Axon 30 with under-display camera sensor goes on sale in China

Jeet — Tue, 03 Aug 2021 03:06:32 +0000

Last year, ZTE became the first company in the world to commercially launch a smartphone with an under-display camera sensor. A few days ago, the Chinese company launched a successor to that smartphone, dubbed ZTE Axon 30.

Today, the ZTE Axon 30 smartphone goes on sale in China in multiple memory variants. The 6GB RAM with 128GB storage variant is priced at 2,198 yuan (~$340) while the 8GB RAM with 128GB storage model costs 2,498 yuan (~$386).

There’s also an 8GB RAM with 256GB storage models, costing 2,798 yuan (~$433). The top-end model in the lineup with 12GB RAM and 256GB internal storage is priced at 3,098 yuan (~$479) but in the first sale, it costs 2,998 yuan (~$464).

The ZTE Axon 30 features a 6.92-inch AMOLED display with 1.07 billion colors and a screen resolution of 2460 x 1080 pixels. It offers a 20.5:9 screen aspect ratio with a 100% coverage of the DCI-P3 color gamut. The device also comes with DTS: XUltra 3D sound effects that can provide an immersive audio and video experience.

The highlight of the smartphone remains the under-display camera technology. It has a multi-drive ACE circuit arrangement that makes the transition of the camera area under the screen more natural. The 7-layer screen structure, special OLED and more transparent cathodes, and high-transmittance arrays create better conditions for the camera sensor.

It features a 16 megapixels front camera with a single-pixel size of up to 1.12um. On the back, the device features a quad-camera setup that includes a 64-megapixel Sony IMX682 primary sensor, coupled with an 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle sensor, a 5-megapixel macro lens, and a 2-megapixel depth-of-field lens.

Under the hood, the phone is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 processor. It is equipped with memory fusion technology that can use 8GB from flash memory as Virtual storage (post push), combined with the 12GB physical RAM version, bumping up the available RAM to 20GB.

The ZTE Axon 30 runs the Android 11 operating system with the company’s MyOS 11 on top. It packs a 4,200mAh battery that supports 55W fast charging.

Leaked Honor Magic3 Pro+ specs mention an under-display camera, 100x zoom, and 100W charging

Habeeb Onawole — Sun, 18 Jul 2021 14:36:37 +0000

The Honor Magic3 series is coming next month and while we still have a few weeks of waiting to do, details of the phones have started to surface. Today, key specifications of the top model, the Magic3 Pro+ have been revealed and they are top tier.

The Magic3 Pro+ will be the highest model of the series which has four phones and Honor has packed really impressive specs into the device as revealed in a tweet by @RODENT950.

According to the leaker’s tweet, the Magic3 Pro+ will have a 6.76-inch waterfall display. The panel which is supplied by Visionox will not have a notch or holes for a front-facing camera. Instead, Honor will give it an under-display camera like the upcoming ZTE Axon 30 and Samsung Galaxy Fold 3. There is no mention of the refresh rate but we don’t expect it to be less than 120Hz.

Magic 3 Pro(+)
6.76" 1228p visionox waterfall display with UDC
4400mAh battery with 100w charging (wired) and 50w wireless charging
New Honor SuperZoom with 100x digital zoom #HONORMagic3Series pic.twitter.com/s8cSrzMWxg

— Teme (特米) (@RODENT950) July 18, 2021

Still talking about cameras, the Honor Magic3 Pro+ will be capable of up to 100x digital zoom, a feature that is dubbed SuperZoom.

Honor will include a 4400mAh battery in the device. While this is smaller than the 5000mAh battery inside the Galaxy S21 Ultra and the Mi 11 Ultra, the Magic3 Pro+ has the upper hand when it comes to charging. The phone will have support for 100W fast wired charging which blows away the measly 25W Samsung’s flagship offers as well as the 67W of Xiaomi’s 2021 flagship. It will also have support for 50W wireless charging.

No doubt these are impressive specs but we can’t wait to find out what Honor will be charging for the phone when it launches.

ZTE Axon 30 under-display camera smartphone’s teaser sheds light on build material and technology

Jeet — Thu, 15 Jul 2021 07:32:51 +0000

ZTE has been working on its second-generation under-display camera smartphone — ZTE Axon 30 as a successor to Axon 20 5G. It has now been officially confirmed by the company to soon get launched in its home market China.

Ahead of the launch, the firm has started teasing features of the upcoming phone. Today, the company has shared a new teaser poster on Weibo that reveals details about the phone’s build material and technology used.

It claims that the ZTE Axon 30 uses seven layers of high-transmittance materials, three layers of special technology, and offers stronger light transmission. Prior to this, ZTE had revealed that the device will come with a 120Hz refresh rate and offer 400PPI pixel density.

In a recent teaser video, the company showcased the smartphone with minimal bezels and a higher screen-to-body ratio as it aims to offer a true full-screen experience to uses. It has already been confirmed that the phone will feature ZTE’s second-generation under-display camera technology which was demonstrated a few months ago at Mobile World Congress Shanghai.

This new technology is touted to have significant upgrades and improvements over the first generation. ZTE said its team of engineers has gone through difficult research to effectively eliminate glare and diffraction from the material. It can effectively eliminate the adverse effects of foggy surfaces, ensure that the picture is bright and transparent, and intelligently adjust the exposure.

So far, not much is known about the phone’s specifications but it’s speculated to come powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chipset. There’s a possibility that the company may opt for a different processor. The device is expected to run Android 11 with ZTE’s new MyOS interface on top. We expect to know more details about this upcoming smartphone in the coming days.

ZTE Axon 30 teaser showcases phone’s full-screen design with under-display camera

Jeet — Wed, 14 Jul 2021 05:17:33 +0000

Last year, ZTE had launched the Axon 20 5G smartphone as the world’s first mobile phone to feature an under-display camera. Now, the Chinese company is gearing up to launch a successor of the same, dubbed ZTE Axon 30.

Today, ZTE officially released a teaser video for the upcoming ZTE Axon 30 smartphone, showing the phone’s front panel for the first time. Compared to its predecessor, the smartphone comes with several improvements.

https://www.gizmochina.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/ZTE-Axon-30-Teaser.mp4

The teaser video reveals that the smartphone will come with an improved screen-to-body ratio compared to its predecessor. The bezels around the screen are quite narrow and only the bottom bezel is a bit thicker. It will be offering a true full-screen experience to users.

It has already been confirmed that the phone will feature ZTE’s second-generation under-display camera technology which was demonstrated a few months ago at Mobile World Congress Shanghai. This new technology is touted to have significant upgrades and improvements over the first generation.

The company previously said that its team of engineers has gone through difficult research to effectively eliminate glare and diffraction from the material. It can effectively eliminate the adverse effects of foggy surfaces, ensure that the picture is bright and transparent, and intelligently adjust the exposure.

While nothing has been confirmed by ZTE, it is believed that the phone will come powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chipset but there’s a possibility that the company may opt for a different processor. It could run Android 11 with ZTE’s new MyOS interface on top.

The ZTE Axon 30 was teased back in January this year as the successor to the Axon 20 5G, however, the phone’s launch was delayed due to the global chip shortage and some other related issues. But with the new teaser shared by the company, it seems that the device is now ready to make its debut.

ZTE Axon 30 series smartphone with under-display camera to reportedly launch this month

Jeet — Thu, 01 Jul 2021 08:10:05 +0000

ZTE’s flagship smartphones — Axon 30 Ultra and Axon 30 Pro were launched in the first half of this year and both of them featured a single punch-hole design. Now, the company is reportedly gearing up to launch a device with a full-screen design.

Today, a new report coming from China through ‘Digital Chat Station’ on Weibo reveals that home-grown company ZTE will be launching a new variant of Axon 30 series with an under-display camera later this month.

The report further adds that the smartphone will have a design that is touted to be the best form of the full-screen design. However, nothing specific is known about the design of this upcoming smartphone.

The company has added that its team of engineers has gone through difficult research to effectively eliminate glare and diffraction from the material. The triple forward-looking smart algorithm onboard can effectively eliminate the adverse effects of foggy surfaces, ensure that the picture is bright and transparent, and intelligently adjust the exposure.

ZTE Axon 30

For color reproduction and dynamic range performance, its enhanced module can also optimize the contrast and enhance the proactive imaging performance, claims the company. ZTE’s under-screen camera solution has been iteratively updated and the experience has been continuously improved.

This new version of the ZTE Axon 30 series smartphone with under-display camera technology is expected to go official later this month and we will have to wait for a bit longer for the announcement to know more about the phone, including its design, specifications, memory variants, and pricing information.

Most Flagship smartphones will still feature punch hole cameras in 2022: Tipster

Sean — Fri, 18 Jun 2021 10:28:07 +0000

While we have heard about various companies working on their under display selfie camera technology, the premium grade flagship smartphones arriving next year might still launch with a punch hole selfie shooter.

According to tipster, Digital Chat Station on Weibo, a Chinese microblogging website, most top end handset from companies would still feature a punch hole display design on the front. The known tipster stated that while smartphones with under display camera technology are expected to debut sometime in the third quarter of this year, most premium devices next year would still skip this new camera technology.

The blogger further added that some phone makers will be the first to launch handsets with the under display cameras, but this technology still wouldn’t be widely adopted in the overall smartphone market. At the moment, certain OEM’s like Xiaomi are working devices with under display cameras. Similarly, Samsung is expected to unveil a handset with a high resolution selfie camera under the screen sometime in August of this year.

Concept render of the Xiaomi Mi MIX 4 with a camera housed under the display

Unfortunately, this is all the information shared by the tipster on the social media platform. So, stay tuned for more, as we will be providing updates when additional information is available regarding this matter.

Xiaomi Mi MIX 4 with under-display camera to be more expensive than Mi 11 Ultra

Jeet — Fri, 18 Jun 2021 08:19:11 +0000

Xiaomi has been rumored to be working on a next-generation of its Mi MIX series flagship smartphone which is expected to go official in the third quarter of this year. The upcoming phone of the MIX series, Mi MIX 4, launching after three years, is said to offer an ultimate full-screen experience to the users.

Now, a new report coming from China claims that the Xiaomi Mi MIX 4 will be made available in only one version that will have an under-display camera sensor. There won’t be a traditional version of the phone as rumored earlier, says the report.

Concept Render of the Xiaomi Mi MIX 4

Apart from that, the report also adds that the pricing of the Mi MIX 4 will be higher than the price of the Mi 11 Ultra flagship smartphone from Xiaomi, which is touted as the “Light of Android” because of its top-of-the-line specifications.

The Xiaomi Mi MIX 4 could possibly miss 2K screen resolution support but the report adds that it may come with a specially customized high-screen resolution which will offer better display results compared to Full-HD+ screen resolution.

The device is also expected to adopt a four-frame fully equal-width design as it aims to offer a true full-screen design with an under-display camera sensor. The Chinese smartphone maker is aiming to offer a unique experience to the user.

The handset is expected to come powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chipset and will come packed with a 4,500mAh battery that will support 120W wired fast charging — the highest-rated fast charging technology so far.

Samsung to unveil smartphone with high-resolution under-display camera in August

Jeet — Tue, 15 Jun 2021 12:58:43 +0000

Samsung has been working on a smartphone with an under-display camera sensor and now it is being reported that the South Korean company has managed to achieve high-resolution for the under-display camera technology.

Further, it is being speculated that the device with this new technology for the front-facing camera could get launched in the second half of this year, and is most likely to go official in the month of August.

With the achievement of high-resolution support, cementing its effectiveness, it remains to be seen what is the yield rate for the manufacturing on this technology. So far, the technology offered lower resolution and not-so-good outcomes.

Samsung will be hosting a launch event in the month of August this year where the South Korean giant is expected to launch the Galaxy Z Fold 3 smartphone along with the Galaxy Z Flip 3 phone. Out of these two, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 is said to come with under-display camera technology.

The company will reportedly use technology that works by dividing the display into two portions — a small area with a different pixel structure and lower resolution than the main screen that allows light to get to the camera sensor, along with the main display.

With this new type of implementation, what you get is an unbroken screen. But the downside is that the camera is visible on light backgrounds, something that the current implementation on ZTE Axon 20 5G takes care of.

Apart from Samsung, some other phone manufacturers are also working on this new technology and could launch their own smartphones with the under-display camera set up by the end of this year.

Samsung takes a different under-display camera implementation approach for Galaxy Z Fold 3

Jeet — Mon, 07 Jun 2021 11:54:31 +0000

Samsung has been working on its next-generation foldable smartphone under the Galaxy Fold series, dubbed Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3. It’s almost confirmed that the phone will feature an in-display camera sensor.

Now, a new report coming from Ice Universe suggests that the South Korean giant has opted to go with a different approach for implementation of under-display camera technology for better results.

Fold3's UPC transmittance is as high as 40%+, which is much higher than any other brand UPC solutions you have ever seen.

— Ice universe (@UniverseIce) June 4, 2021

pic.twitter.com/3YBZkXYkai

— Ice universe (@UniverseIce) June 6, 2021

The company will reportedly use technology that works by dividing the display into two portions — a small area with a different pixel structures and lower resolution than the main screen that allows light to get to the camera sensor, along with the main display.

So, with this new type of implementation, what you get is an unbroken screen. But the downside is that the camera is visible on light backgrounds, something that the current implementation on ZTE Axon 20 5G takes care of.

But the upside for this new approach for the under-display camera sensor is that it has a higher light transmittance than the existing solutions, resulting in better image quality for the photos captured. To know for sure how the camera technology implementation looks and what the results are, we will have to wait for the official launch.

Given that it’s a pretty new technology and only a couple of companies have made it to the commercial phase, we expect to see rapid and noteworthy development in the coming months as more companies jump the bandwagon.

Alleged render of the Nubia Z30 hints at an under-display camera

Habeeb Onawole — Wed, 28 Apr 2021 18:36:39 +0000

Earlier this week we reported that the next-generation Nubia Z series flagship smartphone will soon arrive according to Ni Fei, a top executive and head of mobile devices at ZTE. Now an alleged render of the phone which is called the Nubia Z30 (name yet to be confirmed) has been posted online.

Since this is not an official render, we advise our readers to take it with a pinch of salt as there is a possibility the original device may not look like this. The render was posted on Weibo earlier today and it shows that the Nubia Z30 will adopt a design very different from that of its predecessor.

An alleged render of the Nubia Z30

As seen in the image, the Nubia Z30 is shown to have a curved display. The back is also curved at the sides but surprisingly, the side view doesn’t seem to show that the device is as curved as the front and rear view portrays.

The most noticeable thing is the lack of a hole in the screen for the front-facing camera. Since there is no hole or notch, there is a chance that the phone has either a pop-up camera or an under-display camera. And since this is a ZTE phone, it is most likely the latter.

On the back is a four-camera array in a rectangular housing. There is an inscription that says that the phone has a 100x hybrid zoom mode like the Galaxy S21 Ultra. This means one of the cameras is a periscope telephoto camera.

The Nubia Z30 will have a Snapdragon 888 processor as revealed in a Weibo post by Ni Fei a while back. However, we do not know if there will be only one model or if there will be lite, pro, and ultra versions too.

Tipster reveals Xiaomi, Samsung, Oppo & others will launch UD camera flagships this year

Jed John Ikoba — Tue, 20 Apr 2021 04:52:35 +0000

Recall how Chinese tech giant ZTE took the industry by storm by releasing the first under-display camera-packing phone last year? Well, the model known as Axon 20 5G has since been released for the international market but the UD camera technology is far from being the feature that’d interest you the most on the device.

Axon 20’s UD camera isn’t noticeable under some conditions
Source: Pheonix Lab Review

ZTE was expected to release an upgraded second-generation version of the UD camera tech onboard the Axon 30 series that was launched recently but that did not happen. The company later disclosed that a UD camera-packing Axon 30 model is coming later this year.

The second half of the year is when the Under Display Camera officially debuts, including at least Samsung (folding), Xiaomi (MIX4), OPPO (folding), vivo and ZTE (greatly improved version)

— Ice universe (@UniverseIce) April 19, 2021

Tipster @iceuniverse has also shed more light on the OEMs planning to release UD camera phones this year. The tipster hinted that ZTE will be joined by the likes of Samsung, Xiaomi, OPPO, and Vivo within the year. The source equally listed the models that the technology will be onboard and interestingly, they are flagship models. According to the source, Samsung will use it on a foldable smartphone, Xiaomi on the Mi Mix 4, and OPPO on a foldable screen as well. An earlier leak had tipped the Mi Mix 4 to feature an under-display camera among other features.

ZTE is said to bring a far more improved version of the UD camera technology. This should be the second-generation under-display camera technology that was unveiled at MWC Shanghai in February this year. According to reports, the technology will still be onboard the Axon 30. Recall that only the Axon 30 Ultra and Axon 30 Pro were unveiled. So the Axon 30 will most likely debut with an under-display camera.

ZTE reveals the Axon 30 with an under-display camera was delayed, will come soon

Habeeb Onawole — Thu, 15 Apr 2021 13:50:27 +0000

ZTE announced the Axon 30 Pro and Axon 30 Ultra smartphones today. The two phones are its latest flagships but they do not come with under-display cameras like the Axon 20 5G. For those wondering if ZTE has abandoned its under-display camera technology due to the sub-par review the Axon 20 5G received, that is not the case.

Ni Fei, the president of ZTE Mobile Devices, revealed that the Axon 30 is coming and it will have an under-display camera. The manufacturer explained that the device was delayed due to the current global chip shortage among other issues. Nevertheless, he says the phone will arrive soon.

ZTE had teased that the Axon 30 will have an under-display camera back in January. The phone will be the direct successor to the Axon 20 5G and it will feature ZTE’s second-generation under-display camera technology. The manufacturer already demoed the technology earlier this year at Mobile World Congress Shanghai and claims it brings significant upgrades over the first generation.

The phone is expected to come with a Snapdragon 888 chipset like its other siblings that were announced today, though we won’t be surprised if it comes with a different chipset entirely. It should also run Android 11 with ZTE’s new MyOS interface on top.

Leaker reaffirms Xiaomi Mi MIX 4 will have an under-display camera, and likely have a curved display too

Habeeb Onawole — Sat, 10 Apr 2021 17:07:55 +0000

Unlike last year that Xiaomi did not release a Mi MIX phone, it plans to release two this year. It has already released the first, the Mi MIX Fold, which is also its first-commercially available foldable phone. However, it is expected to release a second one later this year that will arrive as the Mi MIX 4. More details of the phone have surfaced, some which reaffirm what we already know.

According to the popular Chinese leaker, Ice Universe, the Mi MIX 4 will have an under-display camera, a first for a Xiaomi phone. ZTE and Vinsmart are two of the phone manufacturers with phones with an under-display camera and more including Xiaomi are expected to join them this year.

The leaker also mentioned that there is a possibility the phone will also have a curved display. This feature is one folks have a divided opinion on. There are some who like curved displays and others who don’t. However, if the Mi 11 and its siblings, the Mi 11 Pro and Mi 11 Ultra are taken into consideration, we don’t expect a display as curved as that of the Huawei Mate 40 Pro+.

I am 100% affirmation, Mi Mix4 will use the UPC ( Under Panel Camera ) technology, and it is very likely to use curved screen design, and other new technologies will be used for this phone. pic.twitter.com/esxZPrw5F3

— Ice universe (@UniverseIce) April 10, 2021

The Mi MIX 4 should have a Snapdragon 888 processor under its hood. It has also been reported that its display will have a QHD+ resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. Just like the Mi 11, its in-display fingerprint scanner should also double as a heart rate scanner. While its battery capacity is not known, the phone should support ultra fast wired and wireless charging.

ZTE’s Ni Fei teases new under-display camera technology ahead of MWC Shanghai

Jeet — Tue, 23 Feb 2021 01:09:12 +0000

ZTE is one of the early adopters of the under-display camera technology for smartphones. Now, the Chinese company seems to have improved the tech and will be introducing it with the Axon 30 Pro smartphone.

Ahead of the launch of the smartphone, ZTE’s Business Unit President and President of the Nubia Technology, Ni Fei, has confirmed that the next-generation under-display camera technology will be unveiled at MWC Shanghai.

Ni Fei has now shared a teaser image on his personal Weibo account which gives us a hint at the improved technology. It appears that the in-display camera has less visible issues with the panel and offers improved image quality.

This new technology for the in-display camera sensor is expected to be the first to utilize the under-screen 3D structured light. Given that the Axon 30 Pro, which will feature this new tech, is said to be a flagship smartphone powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 SoC, the image quality should have improved drastically to consider it a flagship-worthy.

The ZTE Axon 20 was the first smartphone to feature an under-display camera sensor, which was developed by Visionox. For the newer version also, we expect ZTE to continue working with Visionox. We will be getting more information about this in a few hours, when ZTE takes stage at MWC Shanghai.

ZTE Axon 20 5G’ low DxOMark selfie score shows under-display cameras have a long way to go

Habeeb Onawole — Fri, 19 Feb 2021 00:42:04 +0000

The ZTE Axon 20 5G is one of the first devices to launch with an under-display selfie camera. The technology is expected to pick up this year, but based on DxOMark’s review of the phone’s selfie camera, it shows that under-display cameras still have a pretty long way to go.

DxOMark has awarded the phone an overall selfie score of 26! That is miles from the 104 points scored by the Huawei Mate 40 Pro, or for a fair comparison, the 88 points scored by the Mi 10 Ultra.

The review lab says in its review that the Axon 20 5G’s 32MP selfie camera is plagued by a host of image quality problems, though its exposure and focus are fairly stable. The overall score is broken down into 10 points for photo and 51 points for video.

Some of the major issues are the phone’s narrow dynamic range and underexposure in very low light. That is not surprising considering the camera is sitting behind the display. The Axon 20 also struggles with colors in photos and there are visible white balance casts regardless of the condition you shoot in.

ZTE Axon 20 5G Group Selfie | Source: DxOMark

For videos, the phone does a bit better but still sits almost at the bottom of DxOMark’s list. The low dynamic range is said to result in clipping in both shadows and highlights. There is color degradation and the noise level is high in all shooting conditions.

The Axon 20 5G may have found a neat way to hide the selfie camera but if you enjoy taking selfies or frequently use your phone for video calls, then you should avoid it. You can read the full review here.

ZTE’s upcoming Axon 30 Pro 5G will bring the second generation of under-display selfie cameras and it is expected to be better than its predecessor. However, it remains to be seen how many improvements it will bring.

Xiaomi’s flagship Mi MIX 4 may feature under-display camera technology, here are some concept renders

Jeet — Thu, 11 Feb 2021 06:34:06 +0000

Xiaomi has already confirmed that the company will be launching a new Mi MIX series smartphone later this year. Along with the Mi MIX 4, the company is also confirmed to launch a tablet device.

Ahead of the launch of the Mi MIX 4, more and more information related to the smartphone keep surfacing online. One such report is claiming that the device will come with the leading display design.

It claims that the phone will have a full-screen design without any notches. It could mean that Xiaomi could be among the first phone makers to launch a smartphone with under-display camera technology.

So far, only ZTE has launched a smartphone with under-display camera technology. It had launched the Axon 20 5G last year and is now gearing up to launch its successor, dubbed as the Axon 30.

Xiaomi had earlier teased the under-display camera technology using a prototype device. Last year, in September, it was reported that the company’s under-display cameras made by TCL CSOT could arrive in 2021.

There are also reports that the Mi MIX 4 could feature the four-sided waterfall display with 88-degree curves which was recently unveiled by Xiaomi. However, do note that all these have not been confirmed by the company yet.

We expect more details about the smartphone to surface online and teased by the company as the launch date nears. Till then, we will have to rely on leaks and reports hitting at possible specs and features.

ZTE Axon 30 Pro 5G will be the first flagship with the second-gen Under Display cam

Jed John Ikoba — Fri, 29 Jan 2021 15:06:45 +0000

Last year, ZTE launched the Axon 20 5G as the world’s first Under Display camera phone. The device wasn’t a flagship model per see, rather, it is a premium mid-range model that ZTE intended to use to test the waters. The device was well received even though the camera output of the selfie camera wasn’t spectacular

Now, the company is gearing up to launch a second model with an Under Display camera and the name has been officially confirmed as Axon 30 Pro 5G. Tipster @TheGalox_ has now revealed the specs of the device.

ZTE Axon 30 Pro 5g will be the world's first Flagship device with the Second Generation Under Display camera.

Powered by the Snapdragon 888
6.9 inch 120hz 1080p or 1440p display
Completely new & Flagship level Quad Camera system
Super fast Charging and a 4700mah+ battery pic.twitter.com/w2uUvyileu

— Anthony (@TheGalox_) January 28, 2021

According to the leak, the ZTE Axon 30 Pro will be the industry’s first flagship phone equipped with second-generation under-screen camera technology. It will also be the first Snapdragon 888 flagship with a true full screen. The phone will pack a 6.9-inch display with 1080p/1440p resolution and 120Hz refresh rate. It will also reportedly come with a new quad-camera setup. The device will be powered by a 4700mAh battery.

Further, industry insider Ross Young commented that the Axon 30 Pro’s display is supplied by Visionox.

According to the official introduction, ZTE has adopted core technologies such as ultra-high-transmittance micron-level new materials, independently driven screen display chips, and highly integrated minimalist circuit design to avoid the interference of complex lines on the camera, improve the front shooting effect, and cooperate with the original natural pixel arrangement. The display is more natural.

There is no word yet on when the flagship model will be launched but we expect that to happen in no distant time.

ZTE Axon 20 5G now available for purchase for $449 with a caveat

Habeeb Onawole — Mon, 21 Dec 2020 13:48:27 +0000

Earlier this month, ZTE’s first smartphone with an under-display camera, the Axon 20 5G was announced for the global market. However, details about the price and availability were not revealed but interested buyers in select countries could make their reservations. Today, the price has now been announced and it is available to purchase in a handful of regions.

The Axon 20 5G is available for purchase in Europe, Asia, and Africa. The specific countries are listed below. ZTE is offering the phone in a single configuration and just one color variant. In China, the phone comes in three configurations 6+128GB, 8+128GB, and 8+256GB but global buyers can only purchase the 8+128GB version for a price tag of $449/€449/£419. It is also only available in black.

Purchasing the ZTE phone is not straightforward as interested buyers have to get an invite code (seriously, ZTE?) before they can purchase. To get the code, you have to join ZTE’s New Vision Club and take a quiz. The quiz’ page says “if you pass the test with flying colors, you will receive an invite code within 72 hours”.

Our New Vision Club Event has just launched. For a limited time, you will have the chance to buy a limited edition Black ZTE Axon 20 5G that is only available if you get an invitation code in our event https://t.co/at7iuIMZHt pic.twitter.com/yLAiBh0xCL

— ZTE Device (@ZTEDevice) December 21, 2020

The quiz asks a bunch of questions about the phone such as how the under-display camera technology was pulled off and your favorite feature of the phone. You should read the launch article to get answers to some of the questions.

EDITOR’S PICK: VinSmart plans to launch its smartphones in overseas markets

These are the following countries where the Axon 20 5G is available for purchase:

Europe – Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, and the UK.
Asia – Malaysia, Korea, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, and UAE.
Africa – South Africa.

The Axon 20 5G has a 6.92-inch OLED display with a 2460 x 1080 resolution and a 90Hz refresh rate. It is powered by a Snapdragon 765G processor that draws juice from a 4220mAh battery with support for 30W wired fast charging and Quick Charge 4+.

The phone has four rear cameras – a 64MP primary camera, an 8MP ultrawide angle camera, a 2MP depth sensor, and a 2MP macro camera. The camera under the display is a 32MP sensor. The phone also has an in-display fingerprint scanner, an “under-screen speaker”, and runs Android 10 out of the box.

The post ZTE Axon 20 5G now available for purchase for $449 with a caveat appeared first on Gizmochina.

Apple’s new patents hint at Touch ID and under-display Camera support for Apple Watch

Jeet — Wed, 16 Dec 2020 06:29:25 +0000

Apple Watch lineup is arguably one of the best smartwatches in the world. Recently, the company added two more models to the lineup — Apple Watch Series 6 and Apple Watch SE. The company has been adding more and more features to the smartwatches, ensuring they remain the market leader.

In line with that, it seems that Apple is now exploring the idea of adding Touch ID to the Apple Watch, along with an under-display camera sensor. The company has filed a patent for the same, titled “Electronic device having sealed button biometric sensing system.” This was spotted by Patently Apple.

The patent says that the Touch ID, which is basically Apple’s terms for the fingerprint sensor, can be embedded into the side button on the Watch, allowing users to have biometric authentication for unlocking the device as well as for making purchases.

There’s another patent filed by Apple titled “Electronic devices with two-stage display,” reports Apple Insider. It reveals how the company is planning to layer the display panels to include a camera and a flash, which are visible only when needed.

EDITOR’S PICK: Huawei releases HarmonyOS 2.0 Developer Beta version for smartphones with support for Android apps

It showcases that one layer will have a pixel array for displaying images while the outer layer will have an array of light modulator cells that can become transparent or block out light when needed to allow the camera to function.

The technology proposed by Apple for the under-display camera should also be working for other devices, including iPhones and iPad, but interestingly, the patent is only focusing on the Apple Watch.

Do note that these are patent filing by Apple and it doesn’t necessarily mean that the company actually has such devices under development. However, this does reveal that Apple is interested in exploring these technologies and there’s a high probability that the features could actually be available in Apple Watch in the coming years.

The post Apple’s new patents hint at Touch ID and under-display Camera support for Apple Watch appeared first on Gizmochina.

Realme executive teases smartphone with under-display camera technology

Jeet — Wed, 23 Sep 2020 07:13:52 +0000

Smartphone manufacturers have been trying to come up with a perfect solution for a full-screen device. After offering a pop-up camera module, manufacturers are now working on under-display camera technology.

While ZTE has already launched the world’s first smartphone with an under-display camera — ZTE Axon 20 5G, other manufacturers like OPPO and Xiaomi are working on the same. Now, it seems that Realme has also joined the list.

EDITOR’S PICK: Huawei in talks with other manufacturers for using HMS and HarmonyOS, says Chairman Guo Ping

Realme’s Vice President and President of Global Marketing Xu Qi has today shared a photo on Weibo which shows a smartphone without any notch on top of the display. This hints that the company is gearing up to launch a device with under-display camera technology.

However, do note that the Xu Qi has not explicitly confirmed that this is the company’s upcoming smartphone using in-display camera technology. But going by his comments on the same post, he has teased selfies and confirmed there’s no pop-up camera, hinting that the phone is using under-display camera technology.

Recently, Xu Qi had teased a new flagship smartphone from the company, which is likely to be powered by the upcoming Qualcomm Snapdragon 875 chipset. This comes at a time when there are reports claiming that OPPO has killed off its Ace lineup of smartphones and will be replacing it with a new series under its Realme brand.

The post Realme executive teases smartphone with under-display camera technology appeared first on Gizmochina.

Vietnam’s VinSmart announces the Vsmart Aris Pro with an under-display camera

Habeeb Onawole — Sun, 20 Sep 2020 19:33:27 +0000

The ZTE Axon 20 5G is no longer the only phone in the world with an under-display camera. It has now been joined by the Vsmart Aris Pro, a phone manufactured by Vietnam’s VinSmart.

The Vsmart Aris Pro has a 6.39-inch FHD+ AMOLED display that has a 20MP camera buried under it. VinSmart says it has partnered with VinAI Research Institue for Artificial Intelligence to develop an AI image processing algorithm specifically for phones with cameras under the screen.

The phone is powered by a Snapdragon 730 processor with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. The processor draws power from a 4000mAh battery with support for Quick Charge 3.0.

The Vsmart Aris Pro has quad rear cameras arranged in a squircle that sits in the middle of the phone. The setup includes a 64MP main camera, an 8MP ultrawide angle camera, an 8MP telephoto camera with 2x optical zoom, and a 2MP macro camera.

The phone ships with Android 10 out of the box, has dual SIM support (nano-only). It is available in Blue, Black, Gray, and Green and is already available for pre-order. The phone is priced at VND 9,990,000 (~$431) and the first 5000 pre-orders get a VND 500,000 (~$22) voucher and a free pair of Anker TWS earphones worth VND 1,700,000 (~$73).

The post Vietnam’s VinSmart announces the Vsmart Aris Pro with an under-display camera appeared first on Gizmochina.

Future of Transparent OLEDs is in Automobiles: CEO of OTI Lumionics

Joel Joseph — Fri, 18 Sep 2020 14:39:22 +0000

Last week, we posted a special story on under-display cameras with inputs from the CEO of OTI Lumionics, Michael Helander. We discussed Xiaomi, ZTE, and under screen cameras in general and how the technology would evolve in the coming years.

Today, we publish the second and the final part of the series, focused on transparent OLEDs and foldable displays. If you haven’t read the first part yet, I would suggest reading it first here.

Xiaomi Transparent TV OLED

As you might have already realized from the first part on under screen cameras, transparent OLED development is the real reason why we can add cameras underneath the display. But the first set of devices to get a completely transparent screen are not going to be smartphones, rather, it would be much larger devices like TVs and automobiles.

Transparent, Clear OLEDs won’t likely replace your traditional TVs

Remember Xiaomi’s premium Mi TV Lux OLED transparent TV?

Xiaomi Mi TV LUX OLED Transparent Edition

It looked very cool for a 2020 TV. But transparent OLED TVs are all set to become a lot more transparent in the coming years.

Xiaomi’s Mi TV Lux had a transparency of around 33% which was pretty good, but Michael, CEO of OTI Lumionics, says its ConducTorr CPM material solution can help display makers manufacture TVs with nearly 65% transparency. The company even showcased such a transparent panel at Shanghai with ITRI from Taiwan. And it is currently working with panel makers to mass produce transparent displays with such high levels of transparency.

Transparent OLED made with OTI Lumionic’s ConducTorr CPM

This brings us to the next big question.

Will the next revolutionary TV in the industry be a transparent OLED TV? Will they replace our standard OLED TVs in the future?

Michael said that he was a bit skeptical about transparent OLEDs replacing our regular OLED TVs. “To me, the value is not a transparent OLED TV replacing the normal TV that you have in your life, like the living room or your gaming monitor. I think those will stay the same. Cost will come down and we’ll see more people with OLED TV’s. And where the transparent TV is going to come in is new applications.”

He said that transparent OLED TVs are likely to be used in new places. He was quick to point out the news about the Beijing Metro installing LG’s transparent OLED TVs to display travel information.

LG Display transparent OLED Panel in China subway

Michael says that when it comes to transparent OLEDs or even regular OLEDs in general, some of their most exciting applications have not been thought about yet.

For example, take LG’s rollable OLED TV. It was initially conceptualized as a TV with a minimalistic design for your home. However, he said that consumers who checked out the TV had a very interesting question, ‘How much does a whole box weigh?’

LG rollable OLED TV
Source: LG

He explains that after seeing the TV in the enclosed state, consumers suddenly realized “my TV now rolls up to this little box and it’s pretty light. Suddenly, I can move the TV around wherever I want. Take it to my friend’s place.”

LG Rollable OLED TV three different states
Source: LG

This feedback from the customers got the company thinking and they were considering bringing down the size of the base unit by making it smaller, narrower, and lighter, potentially allowing customers to carry it around. This was probably never in their minds when they developed this product, but it shows how new applications for transparent and flexible OLEDs will open up in the coming years.

Also Read: LG is launching a 163-inch TV with a microLED display

Transparent OLEDs will take over your high-end Automobiles

Michael further explains that ultra-clear and transparent OLEDs can shine in the automotive industry.

Tesla Touchscreen Display Console
Source: Tesla

It’s the age of cars with large displays in the center console and we have to thank Tesla for that. OTI Lumionics has received a lot of interest from car manufacturers to add one large, transparent display on the console. These carmakers believe that such a transparent display would offer a futuristic feeling to the driver and the passengers. Another benefit is that this design would make the interior look large and roomy.

LG OLED Car Infotainment Demo
Source: LGDisplay

But there’s another area where clear, transparent OLEDs can shine – HUDs and side windows. The current transparent OLEDs are essentially just 30-40% transparent, so your see-through image is blurry. For using OLEDs in Heads up display or even on the side windows of cars, the OLEDs need to be very extremely transparent, allowing a clear view of what’s happening outside. So the driver and the passengers should be able to clearly see pedestrians, stop signs, and traffic lights.

Even BOE recently demoed a transparent OLED solution for car side windows with a smart dimming feature.

BOE Side Window Dimming Concept

This sounds like a cool and futuristic application of OLEDs. But how far off are we from seeing such applications in real life, especially if it’s going to be very expensive to manufacture?

Transparent OLEDs of the future won’t have exorbitant manufacturing costs

The real area where transparent OLEDs will shine will be in larger form factors like car windows, HUDs, or even new applications like a conference table with a transparent OLED touch screen on top.

But in order for them to be feasible, it’s important that the manufacturing cost isn’t exorbitantly high.

transparent OLED
source: OTI Lumionics

But Michael says that it’s not going to cost a bomb manufacturing these super transparent OLEDs. “The beauty of our solution is the process of manufacturing, the cost of making one hole in one area is exactly the same as making a million holes on the whole display regardless of the size. [Our] technology is scalable, to a very small display to a very large display.”

So it looks like cars and devices with transparent OLEDs aren’t very far off. And in the next few years, we might actually come across multiple products from different fields using a transparent OLED to enhance our experience.

Another emerging field where OTI Lumionics is helping display makers is foldables.

Editor’s Pick: Samsung unveils foldable OLED panel with world’s smallest curvature

OTI Lumionics helps to develop Power Efficient Foldable Displays

Foldables are the future of smartphones and slowly, but steadily, we are seeing an inflow of foldable smartphones in the market. Samsung recently announced its second-generation Galaxy Fold Z 2 globally and even Motorola has its Razr foldable in the market. Next year, we can expect more manufacturers to join the foldable race.

OTI Lumionics is not directly involved in the manufacturing of flexible, foldable OLED displays. But they do play an important part in foldable OLED development. The company’s cathode patterning technology helps display manufacturers to improve the power efficiency of their foldable panels.

Michael explains that foldable smartphones have large displays, comparable to tablets and even small laptops. But you can’t add a proportionally larger battery on the device, which affects battery life.

In fact, Michael revealed that as you increase the size of the foldable OLED panel, its power consumption doesn’t increase linearly. For example, the power consumption of a 12-inch OLED panel is not double the consumption of a 6-inch panel. It’s way more than that.

Micheal explains, “Part of that is because the top metal layer is one common layer that coats the whole display. So all the electricity and current that goes through every single Pixel in the display has to go through that very thin layer of metal and then conduct all the way to the edge of the screen and through the contacts back into the driver circuit. And so, [for a] 5 or 6-inch mobile panel that’s not a problem. As you start going to a tablet, laptop, monitor [size] that becomes problematic and can limit the brightness and power consumption of the display. This is obviously a very important issue for a foldable.”

“Our same patterning [for making transparent OLEDs] technology can be used to help solve that kind of conductivity issue which then lowers power consumption and allows you to build foldable devices that have comparable power consumption to a smaller size this way.”

Michael believes Surface Duo form factor is better for productivity than Foldables

2020 foldable smartphones aren’t perfect. They still have the issue of durability as compared to other devices and then you have to ignore some issues like the crease line on the display.

When asked about the crease line on foldables, Michael said that it’s technically challenging to remove that crease line without compromising the mechanical strength of the display. In fact, Michael says that he prefers a form factor like the Microsoft Surface Duo over foldables with two separate displays and a hinge.

Michael added that from a productivity perspective, having two separate displays made a lot of sense.

“[On] a larger display, what I want is to be able to show multiple applications — side by side and then on a larger area display, I either have to draw a line on the display or have that cut across individual displays, which is why again.. my personal opinion is the Microsoft Duo type of concept makes a lot more sense in terms of value proposition particularly because it can be made today with existing displays at a fraction of the cost of using a very complicated, hinge and folding structure and flexible glass and flexible display, which as we’ve seen in the Galaxy fold series is incredibly expensive.”

https://www.gizmochina.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/5ed99868-2638-411f-98e5-e6ac0d27_3400.mp4

He adds that foldable displays are definitely fun but when it comes to durability, price, and multi-tasking, a dual-display design like the Surface Duo can be very useful. He further notes that thickness is another issue with foldable phones, which doesn’t make them comfortable to put it in your pockets.

This is actually a pretty good point. When you look at the Galaxy Fold Z 2, it measures 16mm in thickness in its folded state, while the Surface Duo measures under 9mm. So in the current scenario, a form factor like the Surface duo makes sense.

Transparent, Foldable, Flexible OLEDs will reach more sectors

LG Transparent OLED Display Source: LG

It’s clear that OLEDs are going to take over a lot more sectors in the coming years, right from our home, offices, transportation to AR and VR. Companies are spending billions of dollars in research and development of new generation OLED panels and there’s no doubt that we’ll soon see better and more power-efficient OLED panels in the coming years.

And when you see a product using transparent, foldable, rollable OLEDs, know that it is companies like OTI Lumionics that work behind the scenes to bring concepts that were originally seen only in movies to reality.

The post Future of Transparent OLEDs is in Automobiles: CEO of OTI Lumionics appeared first on Gizmochina.

Huawei patents device with 5 rear cameras and an under-screen selfie shooter

Sean — Fri, 11 Sep 2020 11:59:49 +0000

Huawei has recently patented a new smartphone, with a unique rear camera module. On the back, a 5 camera setup can be observed while the front features an under screen selfie shooter.

A new report from LetsGoDigital found that the Chinese tech giant filed for the design patents with the CNIPA (China National Intellectual Property Administration). Looking at the patent, a smartphone is described with a penta camera setup. The patent also contains 24 product sketches and was published earlier today (11th September 2020). The overall design of the smartphone is quite futuristic as well.

In the patent, three variants of this smartphone have been detailed. The different iterations have the rear camera module placed in varying spots on the back. One has the 5 camera setup set in the middle, with the other two having it on the top left and top right respectively. Notably, the camera module itself is quite unique with a hexagonal shape on which all 5 cutouts being of a similar size for the image sensors alongside an LED flash.

On the left, the device is completely bare, while the right houses the volume rockers and power button as well. The bottom has a USB Type C charging port flanked by a lone speaker grill while the top features a 3.5mm headphone jack and a microphone. Unfortunately, it is unknown if Huawei is actually planning on developing this device or whether it is just covering all bases.

The post Huawei patents device with 5 rear cameras and an under-screen selfie shooter appeared first on Gizmochina.

[UPDATED] Explained: Under Display Cameras & its Application with the CEO of OTI Lumionics

Joel Joseph — Thu, 10 Sep 2020 15:36:20 +0000

UPDATE:

The second and final part of this interview which talks about transparent OLEDs and foldable has been published. You can check it out here.

Smartphone and TV displays have become incredibly sharp, bright, and contrasty over the past few years and a lot of this credit goes to the rapid improvement in OLED technology. This display technology has advanced to a level where we have flexible, foldable, and even rollable OLEDs in the market.

LG’s Flexible Display shown off at an event in 2017

But what’s next?

To talk about the future of OLEDs, we needed someone from the inside, an expert who’s actively involved in the development of OLED panels. Last week, I had the opportunity to interview the CEO of OTI Lumionics, Michael Helander.

Michael Helander, OTI Lumionics

Michael has a Ph.D. in Materials Engineering from the University of Toronto. He along with his colleague Zhibin Wang cofounded OTI Lumionics back in 2011 after they made an important discovery that reduced the power consumption of OLEDs while increasing its brightness.

Since then, OTI Lumionics has been fully involved in the research and development of OLEDs. But their most exciting development is the new ConducTorr Electrode that brings out new applications for OLED panels.

Conductorr CPM, OTI Lumionics

In my interview last week, Micheal shared his incredible insights about under-display cameras and OLEDs. I learned so much about OLEDs in the interview that even after removing the non-important parts, this article was turning out to be exceptionally long. So, I’ve decided to split this interview story into two parts.

Today’s article will focus on under-display cameras, how they work, its future, and the challenges faced by manufacturers in mass production.

The second part of this interview piece will be published later this week and will focus on transparent OLED TVs and its application, along with a few insights on foldable OLED panels.

Please note that due to the nature of the interview, this article won’t be in a simple question and answer format. Instead, it will focus on specific areas of an under-screen camera like its development and applications. But rest assured, I have tried my level best to retain Michael’s tone and explanations.

I hope this interview turns out to be incredibly insightful and gives you a thorough understanding of how under-screen cameras work and its future applications.

How does OTI Lumionics contribute to the OLED industry?

Most of us have probably never heard of the name OTI Lumionics. This is because it doesn’t make consumer-grade OLEDs like LG Display or BOE. Instead, the company works behind the scenes and helps display makers to manufacture their OLED panels for smartphones, TVs, and more.

OTI Lumionics logo

When asked about OTI’s contribution’s in the OLED scene, Michael explained that OTI Lumionics supplied advanced materials and chemicals to companies to manufacture high-quality OLED panels on a large scale. The company works in synergy with other suppliers like Universal Display Corporation to enable display makers to manufacture panels with higher efficiency, higher brightness, and longer battery life.

Inside OTI Lumionics’ Research Lab

The company has a dedicated Material’s Discovery Team which applies state of the art high-performance computing (HPC) simulations along with machine learning AI algorithms to discover and design production-ready advanced materials.

Their ConducTorrElectrode for OLED Cathode Patterning, which enables better under-display cameras, is a product of this department.

What is OTI Lumionic’s Conductorr Cathode Patterning Material (CPM)?

In simple terms, ConducTorr CPM enables manufacturers to pattern holes in between the OLED pixels for better transmission of light for the cameras underneath.

To get a better understanding of how under-display cameras work on smartphones and other devices, we need to first understand how camera sensors work and why putting it under a regular OLED panel makes it almost impossible to reproduce images.

iQOO Z1’s notch camera solution

Our smartphone camera sensors need light to capture images. This means, every camera sensor, including cameras that are hidden under the display, need access to light to process and churn out good quality selfies. But our regular OLED panels are not transparent, which means, it won’t allow light to reach the camera sensor that lies below it.

So, in order for the under-display camera to work, you need the display or at least the section above the camera sensor to be relatively transparent and allow light and other signals (like for 3D face recognition) to pass through. This means, the OLED panels used in under-display camera phones have to be customized for this purpose – which is not an easy job, especially when you have to come up with solutions that are scalable for manufacturing millions of such panels.

Regular Notch Phone Camera Solution
Source: OTI Lumionics

Michael explains, “So if you look at the cross-section of an OLED display, it’s made up of a bunch of different layers, kind of stacked one on top of the other. And at the very top of the display is actually one of the electrodes that’s used to get electricity into the display that’s been converted into light for the direct admission from each OLED pixel. And so, that layer of metal covers the entire surface of the display and it’s very thin. It’s like nanometer-scale thickness.”

He adds, “But because it’s metal, it still blocks a bunch of light, which lowers the brightness. If you’re trying to put a camera under there, it lowers the transparency and could create a bunch of problems. The challenge has been in manufacturing on a very large scale the way that these displays are made. There’s no way to effectively pattern that metal layer to create holes or make it thinner in some areas and thicker in others.”

This is the reason why we didn’t see under-display cameras until 2020. But now, companies have finally managed to improve the transparency of OLED panels for this purpose. And thanks to new solutions from companies like OTI Lumionics, increasing the transparency of a part of the display or the entire OLED panel is not so difficult anymore.

OTI Lumionic’s ConducTorr CPM solution increases the transparency of the display during the manufacturing process by patterning holes in between the pixels.

Under Display Camera OLED with Conductorr tech

Michael explains, “So then where we fit in, is our ConducTorr cathode patterning materials (CPM.) You can think of it like an anti-stick coating for metal. So what display manufacturers do is they’ll deposit our material in areas [that] they don’t want any metal to form and then they do the rest of their normal manufacturing process. And they’ll end up with either holes in that metal layer, or some areas can be made thicker [or] thinner. It allows them to do a very high degree of optimization that otherwise is impossible to do in the existing manufacturing process.”

The idea here is to use the space between the pixels, pattern holes in them, and thereby increase the transmission of light and signals. This is similar to the explanation given by Xiaomi on how its own under-display camera was developed (but without the holes).

However, Michael adds that the quality and durability of OLEDs panels are considerably affected by the method used to make holes in these pixels. ZTE, Xiaomi, and OTI Lumionics essentially rely on using the space between the pixels to increase light transmission, but the way they achieve it can significantly impact the overall quality of the OLED display panel on top.

Michael explained that none of the technologies in use right now, may it be ZTE’s under-screen camera solution or even Xiaomi’s solution, can match up to real-world expectations. On the other hand, he was confident that OTI’s ConducTorr CPM technology would enable better and more efficient under-display cameras.

To further understand the difference in the approach adopted by different manufacturers, let’s take a closer look at the existing solutions from ZTE and Xiaomi.

ZTE’s Under Display Camera Solution

Instead of patterning (or making holes in) the top metal layer of the OLED display on the Axon 20 5G (which was announced earlier this month), ZTE decided to replace the top portion with a material that’s more transparent. So the camera that’s located on the top part of the display gets more light due to the higher transparency.

However, in the process, ZTE Axon 20 5G’s display on top of the under-display camera has a lower resolution (so the pixels are more spaced out, which means more space for light to pass). But to ensure that the top portion that features a lower resolution doesn’t stand out significantly, ZTE has to drive the pixels in that area way brighter than the rest of the display. This can potentially affect the reliability of the display area on top of the camera. After all, we all know how OLEDs are susceptible to burn-in.

Another issue with ZTE’s solution is that the color quality of the display won’t be uniform. Since the part above the camera has a different, thinner, and more transparent material than the rest of the display, you’ll notice the slight shift in colors.

Axon 20’s UI elements on top reveals the difference in the quality of the panel covering the camera

So to get around this drawback, Micheal said that ZTE had to limit the UI to only show notifications and non-important content in the area where the camera lies so that it’s less noticeable to the user. But for different user interfaces and operating systems, this software solution is never going to be sustainable in the long run.

1 of 2

While we haven’t yet tested the ZTE Axon 20 5G, this difference in quality was clearly highlighted by one of the reviewers (Pheonix Lab) from China.

Xiaomi’s Under Display Camera Solution

Xiaomi has taken a slightly different approach to this problem. According to the publicly available information, Xiaomi decided to make the pixels in the area above the camera smaller (instead of reducing the resolution) than the rest of the panel. This creates more space between the pixels, allowing more light to pass through. It looks like a slightly better solution than ZTE but it has very similar drawbacks.

Top – Traditional OLED display with 4 RGB subpixels
Middle – Early In-display camera tech had only 1 RGB subpixel reserved for the display
Last – All four RGB pixels are lit up in the third-gen technology but they are smaller in size creating more space for light to pass through

Michael explained, “And so [reducing pixel size] creates more space between the pixels for light to go through but [Xiaomi] didn’t actually cut holes. So it’s still kind of limited in terms of quality and the problem with making a pixel smaller is…you have to drive them much brighter and so there could be potential burn-in issues.” He adds that there might also be a visible color shift in that area.

1 of 3

In one hands-on video of the Xiaomi prototype (via PCHome), we couldn’t find any visible difference in the quality of the display in the area (top left) above the camera and the rest of the panel. So Xiaomi’s solution seems to be better than ZTE. However, the phone was a prototype model and the hands-on video didn’t really focus on the UI elements on top of the camera or its selfie quality.

Michael points out that both Xiaomi and ZTE will probably have to rely heavily on post-processing to make the selfies look better. Xiaomi could also leverage its technology acquisition from Meitu 2018. However, not all markets prefer heavily processed, beautified selfies, which is why Michael thinks that it’s going to be difficult to use this solution in the long run.

How is OTI Lumionic’s ConducTorr CPM technology different?

According to Michael, in order to fully explore the potential of under-display cameras and even transparent OLEDs, companies will have to make holes in their OLED displays to achieve a high level of transparency.

But the idea of making holes in between the pixels sounds quite complicated and risky. So I had to ask Michael about the durability of OTI’s solution. OLEDs have their share of drawbacks like dead/stuck pixels, burn-in, and even color shifts. So there’s always the question of how making holes in the panel would affect its durability in the long term.

OLED pixel gap is utilized for increasing transparency – Source: OTI Lumionics

But Michael seemed pretty confident in his technology. He explained, “With our technique, we’re using the same evaporation process that [companies] use to actually make the red green blue (RGB) pixels in the OLED display, but it’s all low temperature. [There’s] no damage to the displays and we can go to any resolution – all the way down to a very tiny pixel size which would be equivalent to like thousand pixels per inch, which is about double the resolution of a normal smartphone display. And then, in that case, all of our data and our customer data show no degradation in the display quality and no long-term reliability issues.”

pattern-top-cathode

His explanation sounds pretty convincing, but of course, without a real-world OLED product manufactured using the ConducTorr CPM solution, we will have to wait and see the difference in the quality and reliability of these panels.

Editor’s Pick: BOE targets shipment of 40 million flexible OLED this year

Under-Display Cameras are coming to Mid-range phones First

Perfecting the under-screen camera technology will take some time and hence, companies will be hesitant to use it in an expensive model.

Michael said that in the first couple of generations of under-display cameras, manufacturers will have to sacrifice something to get it to work. This also brings us to another major highlight of under-display cameras of 2021. Unlike popular opinion, Michael says that the first generation in-display cameras are likely going to be implemented inside mid-range smartphones. So if you were expecting to see it on a flagship in the first half of 2021, you are set for disappointment.

Michael explained, “We‘ve seen it in the past where Samsung and others have played out [experimental technologies] in some of their mid-tier products first to see how the market accepts it before rolling out across the board.”

“Likely for the first two generations, we’ll have to sacrifice something. Either display [will be] slightly worse, or the camera will be slightly worse,” he adds. “What the early product lets us figure out is, which is more important to the consumer — hiding the camera and making the display perfect or keeping the camera quality as good as possible and if the display is not quite perfect, that’s not a big deal, because it’s still better than a notch.”

So it’s going to be a trial and error for the first few generations until manufacturers gather enough consumer feedback to prioritize what’s more important – camera quality or display quality.

Axon 20 5G teaser

The world’s first under-display camera turned out to be a $320 mid-range Axon 20 5G. So ZTE has set the trend of what’s to come in 2021. We have also heard rumors about Xiaomi’s new in-display camera phone being a mid-range device. So top manufacturers are unlikely to implement an under-display camera solution in their expensive flagships, where there’s no room for mistakes.

But this also tells us that under-display cameras won’t be significantly expensive to mass-produce.

Under Display Cameras aren’t necessarily more expensive than a notch or punch hole solution

According to Michael, it’s still too early to comment on the exact pricing of OLED panels that support under-screen cameras but he is positive that the prices can come close to a traditional punch-hole or notch camera solution.

“No one really knows what the final yield is going to be, and then the yield** directly drives what the panel prices are. One of the promising things is, of course, ZTE is putting [its UD camera panel] in a very low-end phone. It was like $300!”

(**Production yield for a panel manufacturer is the number of good display panels as a percentage of the total number of display panels produced.)

Michael adds, “Our expectation is that once you know the production is scaled, the cost for the panel should not be really that much different than the hole punch or notch displays of today. Because even though they have to add something to make the display semi-transparent they don’t have to cut a hole or cut a notch which has some potential yield loss. So the cost will kind of offset each other.”

His explanation gives us an idea of how under-display cameras can become mainstream in the next few years – possibly as common as a notch or a punch-hole solution. This makes things very exciting, especially because of what comes next after UD cameras become mainstream.

UD camera solution enables Larger Sensors, Multiple cameras, & Better Positioning

The obsession with a full-screen display experience may have driven us to the point of shifting cameras underneath and there are several advantages in this design.

Currently, we are limited by the size of the notch or the punch hole on the display for the camera sensor. Imagine what happens when your camera can hide behind the screen, anywhere.

Xiaomi’s 3rd gen under-screen camera selfie

When I asked Michael about the possibility of adding a larger sensor under the camera for better selfies, he was thrilled to say, “It’s a really great question and I can even take it one step further. We’ve actually seen a number of customers interested in making, potentially, the entire display transparent.”

So are we looking at completely transparent phones anytime soon?

Just as I was about to ask this question, he added that the screen will still look like a regular OLED panel but the benefit of making the entire display transparent is allowing manufacturers to be flexible with the placement of the under-display camera and sensors. A larger transparent area would enable manufacturers to add in a much larger sensor for selfies underneath.

But that’s just one possibility.

They can also add two or three cameras upfront with multiple IR sensors or even something like a Soli sensor without disturbing the full screen, distraction-free visual experience on phones.

Pixel 3 XL had a large, ugly notch on top of the display

But it’s not just about the number of sensors inside, it’s also about their placement. Michael adds, “[Right] now, I’m limited to only [one or two cameras] at the top bezel. And maybe in terms of the internal design of the phone, that’s actually not the best place. If I could move it somewhere else, I’d have more space for the battery, or I could make the phone thinner or make the phone lighter”.

Another advantage of flexible camera placement on the front is the angle of view. He says that with under-display cameras, camera placement is no longer limited on the top bezel, whether it’s on a phone or even a laptop. This gives them the freedom to place it anywhere on the display like the center of the OLED panel which probably will allow for a more immersive video calling and camera experience.

In order to offer a near bezel-less screen experience on the Matebook X Pro, Huawei had to add a pop-up camera in its keyboard

This is especially true in the case of larger devices such as laptops and TVs. Imagine if you could hide the camera at the center of their screens — it would allow for better quality video calls, especially if it feels like the person on the call is directly looking at you. In the case of existing solutions, if the person on a call is looking at the screen of the device, you’d often find that the camera focuses on his or her forehead, which doesn’t make for an immersive experience. This is particularly true in this age where video calls and video conferencing are becoming a vital part of our personal as well as professional lives.

Talking about video conferencing, Michael says companies like Microsoft are even considering the potential of under-screen cameras inside large TVs that are part of a video conferencing system. He adds, “What if the TV is transparent and then I have a bunch of cameras behind it. And again, it’s much better usability in terms of video call quality and social interaction.”

Huawei Mate 20 Pro with a waterdrop notch

My conversation with Michael made me realize that under-screen cameras are definitely the next step in smartphone evolution. The true purpose of spending millions of dollars and years in R&D of under-display cameras is not just to bring a full-screen experience to the user. But it is to enable manufacturers to be flexible with the front camera solution, thereby opening up a lot of potential new applications, that wouldn’t have been possible before.

The first generation of under-screen cameras won’t be perfect. However, with innovative technologies like OTI Lumionics’ ConducTorr CPM, hopefully, within the next couple of years, we’ll meet phones that can match today’s flagships, in terms of both display and camera quality.

OTI recently received a strategic investment from LG Ventures (the investment arm of LG Group) to help accelerate the commercial adoption of its materials and scale up operations. The latest version of OTI’s ConducTorr CPM is ready for mass production and will ship to smartphone display customers in Q4 2020. And the first set of under-display camera phones manufactured using this material is expected to hit the markets in 2021.

In the next article, coming up next week, you’ll get to read more about transparent OLEDs, their applications, and foldables. So stay tuned to Gizmochina!

The post [UPDATED] Explained: Under Display Cameras & its Application with the CEO of OTI Lumionics appeared first on Gizmochina.

Leaked video of a possible Mi 10 Ultra prototype shows an under-display cam

Jed John Ikoba — Sun, 06 Sep 2020 05:50:22 +0000

It is already known that Xiaomi has got an under-screen camera phone in the works. The company’s CEO Lei Jun recently released a demo video showing the firm’s perfected third-generation under-screen display in action. Right now, a video of the Mi 10 Ultra having an under-display selfie camera has appeared online.

The video was shared on Weibo with what appears to be a Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra packing an under-display camera (UDC) being compared with a couple of other Xiaomi devices. Xiaomi released the Mi 10 Ultra recently in China to mark its 10th anniversary and the device didn’t feature an under-display selfie camera. The unit in this video which clearly is a Mi 10 Ultra considering the rear camera design may likely be an early prototype that ended up not being mass-produced.

However, there are speculations that Xiaomi may possibly launch this under-display version of the Mi 10 Ultra in October or November. There are also speculations that the Chinese tech giant may alternatively only showcase the model just like the Mi Mix before mass-production commences next year. The source clearly indicated that this is a prototype and won’t be released until next year. Xiaomi also stated earlier that it aims to bring this technology to the mass market next year” (2021.

https://www.gizmochina.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/mi-10-ultra.mp4

The industry saw its first commercially launched under-display camera-packing phone in the Axon 20 5G recently. The device was a mid-range model and the samples shot on the selfie camera wasn’t that great. Since it is a mid-range model that doesn’t cost so much, the negative reviews won’t be high. We can’t say the same thing about the Mi 10 Ultra which from all intents and purposes is a flagship model. Xiaomi won’t want to test the waters with an expensive machine. Well, except it is sure that the camera quality is devoid of glare and the output is of flagship quality.

The post Leaked video of a possible Mi 10 Ultra prototype shows an under-display cam appeared first on Gizmochina.

ZTE Axon 20 5G, the world’s first under-display camera phone goes Official!

Jed John Ikoba — Tue, 01 Sep 2020 13:12:50 +0000

ZTE revealed a couple of weeks back that it will launch a smartphone equipped with an under-display fingerprint sensor. Later on, details emerged that the phone will adopt the moniker Axon 20 5G and we also saw some of the details and renders via leaks and teasers. True to its word, the company has gone official with the Axon 20 5G. The smartphone comes as the world’s first under-display camera phone.

Axon 20 5G: Specs & Features

The Axon 20 5G’s main selling point is definitely the under-display camera which it packs and that has a high influence on the display design. The Axon 20 5G packs a 6.92-inch OLED screen that covers 100% of the DCI-P3 color gamut and supports 10-bit color depth. The display also supports a 90Hz high refresh rate, 240Hz touch sampling rate, and provides a true, unobstructed full-screen view. The display has an FHD+ resolution of 2460×1080 pixels.

ZTE says it was able to achieve the under-screen camera design by deploying five core technologies, including special materials, dual-control chips, unique driver circuits, a special pixel matrix, and an in-house selfie algorithm. With these technologies, ZTE was able to overcome numerous technical challenges during research and development.

The company also uses a high-transparency material for the display that balances the performance of the display and the front camera. The material includes new organic and inorganic films, thereby improving the light input of the display area to the front camera.

Moreover, a built-in independent dual-control chip and integrated driver circuits have been employed to enable the color synchronization between the front camera and the conventional display. In addition, a unique driver circuit layout design and precision miniaturization components have been used to avoid interference, and restrain the impact on the front camera. ZTE also created a special matrix that can optimize pixels and improve display consistency, thereby creating a more natural transition. The technology sounds similar to Xiaomi’s own under-display camera solution.

Furthermore, ZTE’s front-camera selfie algorithm has optimized the performance of the camera under several lighting conditions. It also supports automatic dynamic range adjustment, hence the great improvement of the photo clarity and the image contrast.

Apart from the under-screen camera, the Axon 20 5G also features an ultra-thin design with a thickness of 7.98 mm. The entire smartphone weighs 198 grams, making it relatively light (this can be subjective) and thin to hold. You also get an under-screen speaker and under-screen fingerprint scanner onboard the device.

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G chipset fires up the Axon 20 5G. The mid-range SoC has become quite popular with many Chinese smartphone brands with models such as the Mi 10 Lite 5G, Redmi K30i 5G, OPPO Reno 4/4 Pro, OnePlus Nord, Nubia Red Magic 5G Lite, and several others utilizing the chipset. The processor is a 7nm octa-core chipset with a Kryo 475 Prime core (Cortex-A76) clocked at 2.4GHz, a Kryo 475 Gold core (Cortex-A76) clocked at 2.2GHz and six Kryo 475 Silver cores (Cortex-A55) clocked at 1.8GHz.

The processor is paired with 6GB RAM and there is also an 8GB RAM version. The phone comes in 128GB and 256GB storage options.

The rear panel of the Axon 20 5G is made of high-hardness 3D curved glass with a ten-layer structure stack design. The panel is coated using vacuum optical coating thus forming a nano-level streamer illusion texture. The back houses a Quad camera setup stacked at the upper left corner. The sensors include a 64MP Ultra-high pixel main camera. There is also an 8MP 120-degree ultra-wide-angle camera, a 2MP depth of field lens, and a 2MP macro lens.

Further, the ZTE Axon 20 5G is equipped with as many as 12 antennas, 3-4 more antennas than those of other suppliers. It adopts a 360-degree surround integrated design. The 12 antennas are intelligently arranged around the mobile phone, and each has its own functions. The phone comes with dual-band 5G. When the mobile network environment becomes weak and the network speed of a 5G card is too slow, ZTE Axon 20’s unique network detection algorithm can intelligently identify and automatically switch wireless data services to the second 5G SIM instantly, realizing 5G dual-card seamless switch to ensure smooth networking.

Keeping the lights on is a 4220mAh battery which charges via a USB-C port. The phone supports Qualcomm Quick Charge 4+ and supports 30W fast-charging.

Pricing & Availability

As for the pricing, ZTE Axon 20 5G 6GB + 128GB variant starts at 2198 yuan ($322). The 8GB+128GB version is priced at 2498 yuan (~$366) while the 8GB + 256GB option goes for 2798 yuan (~$410). The phone is presently on pre-order and will go on sale on September 10 in China.

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ZTE Axon 20 5G confirmed to feature third generation in-display camera technology

Jeet — Fri, 28 Aug 2020 05:15:14 +0000

Smartphone manufacturers have been working on under-display camera technology for years, and now it is ready for a commercial launch. ZTE is all set to launch the world’s first in-display camera smartphone in a couple of days.

Now, ahead of the launch, ZTE has confirmed that the upcoming Axon 20 5G smartphone is using third-generation in-display camera sensor technology. As per the report, this was confirmed by ZTE’s executive Lv Qianhao in response to a user’s question on Weibo.

In this technology, only two-thousandth of the entire screen is used for the camera sensor behind the display, which is just about a small square-inch. The company adds that its Research & Development team managed to achieve the desired output after working day and night to fine-tune the technology.

Furthermore, the screen is also divided into seven different layers — cover glass, polarizer, encapsulation glass, cathode, OLED, array, and substrate glass. It has been given an anti-reflective treatment to maximize transparency and suppress optical diffraction.

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ZTE’s confirmation about using third-generation in-display camera technology comes at a time when Xiaomi has also showcased its own third-gen tech. It revealed the technology showcasing a working prototype and detailed the improvements. It utilizes a self-developed pixel arrangement and achieves light transmittance through the sub-pixel gap area. The company said that the tech is ready for mass-production and will be in the market in 2021.

As per the reports, the ZTE Axon 20 5G smartphone features a 6.92-inch OLED display with a screen resolution of 2460 x 1080 pixels without any kind of notch. It is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G along with up to 12GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage.

On the back, the device has a quad-camera setup that includes a 64MP primary sensor, an 8MP secondary sensor, and two other 2MP sensors. On the front side, it is equipped with a 32MP snapper for taking selfies and video calling. The device is expected to be available in four color options — Black Hole Gravity, Streamer Sea Salt, Phantom Orange Wind, and Purple Moon. To know more about the phone, it’s pricing and availability details, we will have to wait for the official launch on 1st September, just a couple of days from today.

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TCL patents smartphone design with invisible camera sensors

Jeet — Thu, 27 Aug 2020 07:29:14 +0000

Smartphone manufacturers have been trying to introduce devices with under-display camera sensors for years and now the technology finally seems ready to be used on a commercial smartphone.

ZTE has confirmed that the company will launch its Axon 20 5G smartphone on 1st September, making it the world’s first smartphone to feature an in-display camera sensor. Other companies like OPPO and Xiaomi are also working on similar technology.

Along with them, TCL is also working on the same, as revealed through a patent application a couple of months ago. However, it seems that the company is quite ambitious in this regard and isn’t stopping at an in-display camera but wants to hide all the camera sensors.

A new smartphone design patent filed by TCL has been surfaced online without any visible camera sensors on the device — neither on the front side nor on the back. The patent, first reported by LetsGoDigital, also includes product sketches, giving us an idea about the phone.

The images show a smartphone with relatively thicker bezels around the display. There’s definitely an in-display camera sensor at least for the front-facing camera. But interestingly, no camera module is visible on the backside.

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The top part on the backside is significantly bigger than the rest of the area and it may have something to do with the camera module but nothing has been revealed in this patent. There’s another theory as well.

For the invisible camera module on the backside, the company could be using technology we saw on the OnePlus Concept One smartphone. The back could have a glass panel which becomes transparent when cameras are in use and becomes opaque when not in use.

Do note that this is just a patent so there’s no certainty that the company plans to launch a device with such design and technology. The company is more likely to launch its in-display camera smartphone first before unveiling a device with all camera sensors hidden.

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ZTE Axon 20 5G, the world’s first under-display camera phone was in development for 20 months

Sudarshan Ravichandran — Fri, 21 Aug 2020 12:44:09 +0000

Earlier this week, ZTE officially announced to launch the world’s first under-display camera smartphone called Axon 20 5G on September 1. Since then, the company has been teasing this handset with promos and renders. One of the firm’s executives has now revealed some tidbits regarding the development of this phone to the Chinese media.

ZTE Axon 20 5G

Lu Qianhao, Director of Consumer Experience at ZTE told Chinese media (via MyDrivers) that they spent more than 20 months in R&D to give birth to ZTE Axon 20 5G. He admitted that under-display camera technology is extremely difficult, complex, and expensive to achieve.

Back in June, Brian Shen, Vice President of OPPO also made a similar statement. He mentioned the development phase as a “tortuous path”. And even asked people to not expect good quality images from the first-gen products. But he did say that one day, this tech will be perfected with incremental improvements.

It is rumored that OPPO is not satisfied with the picture quality of the under-display cameras yet even though they were the first to showcase it publicly in December 2019 at OPPO INNO DAY conference in Shenzhen, China.

On the other hand, Ni Fei, President of ZTE Mobile Devices said that they carried out a blind selfie camera test for Axon 20 5G and the participants did not find any issue with image quality.

OPPO Under Display Camera Smartphone

Having said that, the upcoming ZTE Axon 20 5G is rumoured to feature Visionox OLED panel for the under-display camera solution. Earlier in July, news broke out that the display manufacturer had shipped $500 million worth of this type of panels to Huawei and Xiaomi.

Interestingly, the world’s first under-display camera smartphone will not be a flagship. According to TENAA, the Axon 20 5G will be powered by the mid-range Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G chipset. But due to that selfie camera, the phone may be priced higher than other normal 5G handsets with this very same silicon.

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