Oppo has announced an under-screen selfie camera that will reportedly offer a step up in the new technology “without compromising the integrity of the screen”.
The company has been focussing on under-display cameras for a while now, and was actually the first to demo it back in 2019. However, Oppo is yet to actually implement the technology into a consumer device.
In late 2020, ZTE made history has the first company to debut the technology in its Axon 20 5G, but unfortunately the quality just wasn’t great.
But Oppo seems to have upped the ante with its “next-generation” version of the technology, which uses smaller pixels to maintain sharpness, rather than reducing pixel density to allow light to penetrate the screen.
“This new under-screen camera solution solves many technical and manufacturing-related challenges that have plagued under-screen camera technology since the beginning of its development,” Oppo said in a statement.
“Breakthroughs include resolving issues such as inconsistent display quality in the screen area above the under-screen camera, poor image quality caused by obstruction of the camera by the screen, as well as issues with product reliability and lifespan. Thanks to advancements in these areas, OPPO has been able to deliver an upgraded under-screen camera solution that takes end-to-end, full-screen experience to new levels.”
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According to Oppo, users should notice “almost no visual difference between the [under-screen camera] area and the rest of the screen during everyday use, creating a much more immersive visual experience”.
The company has released an image of how the under-screen camera would look while reading text on-screen.
Under-screen camera technology is something that tech companies have been trying to master for what feels like a lifetime, but as many manufacturers have come to learn, it’s easier said than done.
Sure, having a crystal-clear camera that hides perfectly under the surface of the device sounds like a dream, but unfortunately it usually requires you to compromise on the actual camera quality.
While the Oppo feels like a step up from the ZTE Axon 20 5G, the camera quality is still noticeably lower than most smartphones on the market today.
So far Oppo has released three generations of under-screen cameras so far. However, there’s no word yet on when this technology could be implemented into a commercially sold device.