The Evolution of Under-Display Cameras: A Breakthrough in Smartphone Technology

Recently, we had the opportunity to witness a significant breakthrough in smartphone technology, as Oppo showcased the first functional prototype with an under-display camera. This innovation has been years in the making, and its impact will be felt across the industry.

Over the weekend, Oppo released a video on their social media account that brought our attention to this revolutionary technology. The device in question features a front-facing camera that is hidden under the display, a feature that has long been considered a holy grail of smartphone design. And what's even more exciting is that Xiaomi, another Chinese company, also showcased similar technology just hours later.

While both Oppo and Xiaomi are not new to this technology, their recent advancements have brought us one step closer to achieving a seamless, bezel-less experience. The notion of having a flip-up camera or pop-up cameras has been around for some time now, but these prototypes are the first to demonstrate a fully functional under-display sensor.

So, how does it work? According to experts, Oppo and Xiaomi have managed to achieve this feat by turning off specific pixels on the OLED display in front of the camera sensors. When these pixels are turned off, they allow the camera to shoot through without obstruction. However, there's a catch - the area that's been turned off is not optically transparent, meaning it's translucent and can affect image quality.

This has become a significant challenge for manufacturers looking to integrate under-display cameras into their devices. The issue of image quality is particularly pressing, as smartphone users are accustomed to high-quality selfies. To address this problem, Oppo and Xiaomi may need to employ software or algorithms to clean up the image or even use multiple camera sensors to improve data points.

It's worth noting that Samsung has been working on under-display technology for quite some time now. In 2018, they showcased slides illustrating their approach to creating such a sensor. More recently, in earlier this year, they demonstrated their Infinity Display lineup, which includes the new Infinity concept. The fact that these two Chinese companies have independently developed similar solutions is a testament to the progress being made in this field.

The implications of under-display cameras are far-reaching, extending beyond the realm of smartphone design. For instance, they can reduce water resistance ratings and provide a sleeker aesthetic, making them an attractive feature for consumers. The development of this technology has also sparked interest among enthusiasts who value innovative designs over traditional camera systems.

In conclusion, it's clear that under-display cameras are on the cusp of becoming a mainstream feature in smartphones. With Oppo and Xiaomi leading the charge, we can expect to see more devices hitting the market soon. While there are still challenges to overcome, particularly when it comes to image quality, this technology has the potential to revolutionize the way we interact with our smartphones.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enOver the weekendWe just got a look at the first under display camera that we've seen in a functional or seemingly functional prototypeand this was a video brought up by Oppo on their social media accountbut they have a front-facing camera that is hidden under the display. and then a few hours laterXiaomi another chinese company puts out a video with the same kind of technology and this video quality's a little bit betterThey're showcasing a device that looks very much like a mi 9 but it also has a fully functioning front-facing selfie cameraAnd it's crazy. like this is technology that we've been seeking or the phone manufacturing world has been seeking for the past little whilewe started off with the phone with a notch the essential phone and then theiPhone had a notch and then every Android phone start to have notchesAnd then we started to get phones this year with things that aren't notches but aren't really like, you knowThis isn't the final form that we're looking for. We have pop-up cameras. We have flip up cameras.We have devices that are trying to circumvent the whole notch and punch hole technology.But the reality is that they're all trying to achieve a completely natural bezzel-less flip up camera list deviceand that's what these prototypes are showingnow from what I understand the way that they're achieving thisis that they're turning off the pixels right in front of the camera sensorsso on a regular OLED displayIt's just a bunch of diodes that are being lit and when they turn offParticular diodes and you can turn off individually ones on an OLED panel when you turn off a set of diodesWhatever's behind it now has a less obstructed line-of-sightSo if you look at this still from the xiaomi video you can still see that the camera with this under display sensorStill has a camera visible on that prototype. It's subtle, but it's thereIt's not as evident as the regular mean and that's beside itBut it's definitely thereSo they've turned off the diodes in that region which allows the camera to be able to shoot through itBut the problem is that that area that's been turned off is not optically transparentIt's translucent we can obviously see through it to some degreeBut it's not a super clean image and that's the problem that all these manufacturers are facing right now. anyone who's chasing thisunder display sensor, under display camerahas to figure out how to clean up that image because when you shoot through those diodesEven if they're off it's not clean and they're going to need software or some kind of algorithm to clean up that image as best as they canand maybe they can use maybe two cameras so that you have basically two data points to work withand then they be able to combine that.I'm not exactly sure what the techniques are that they could use for thisbut that is the problem they're facing right now. How do we clean up that image?So that it is acceptable in today's Selfie camera marketAnd keep in mind that these guys aren't first, right. Samsung's been working on this technology for quite a while nowEven in 2018 there were showing slides of how they were working on some under display sensors and in earlier this yearThey showed like their whole infinity display lineup with the new infinity being the one that's the end goalBut it's super interesting to me that these two Chinese companies out of nowhere showcase this technology in a fully functioning prototype.So for me, like I'm not someone that uses selfie cameras very oftenSo I'd be very willing to eat image quality on my front-facing camera for that technology todayObviously, they're probably not going to do thatLike they want to get a front-facing image that's comparable to a regular front-facing selfie camera, right?Obviously that's what most people are going for. But I think for a lot of people myself included would just eat crap front-facing image quality for that technology todayI mean, I'm willing to put up with the terrible camera on a 12-inch MacBookThat's like a 480p camera that looks like garbagebut whoever brings that technology to the market firstlike whoever does it, is gonna have a bangerbecause it resolved things like having moving parts and having reduced water resistance ratings and stuff like thathaving a under display camera sensor is like....It's the dream.Okay, that basically wraps it up. I think this technology is coolI'm really glad that we were able to see something this early on. I did not expect it. It's crazy thatThis went from a neat idea to a seemingly functional prototype in a very short period of time.And that's really coolObviously, there's a lot more work to be done. But I like what I see.Okay. Hope you guys enjoyed this videoThumbs if you liked itSubs if you loved it.See you guys next time\n"