World’s First Under-Screen Selfie Phone Camera Revealed By Oppo

Oppo

The world’s first under-screen phone camera has been revealed by Oppo, promising a solution for full-screen display.

For some time now, the issue of screen-to-body ratio on mobile phones has dominated conversations about smartphone design, with huge leaps being made in recent years.

But now one company has surpassed expectations, becoming the first to demonstrate a working under-screen camera to the public this week.

Oppo

Enter: Oppo, who unveiled the camera at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Shanghai today (June 26). As reported by The Verge, the company had already teased the camera earlier this month when they shared a short video of it on their social media page.

As well as the short demonstration, Oppo has revealed more about how the technology actually works, referencing the display which reportedly uses a custom transparent material alongside a redesigned pixel structure so light can get through to the camera.

The sensor itself is said to be larger than other selfie cameras as the screen space won’t be compromised, and has a wider aperture lens in front.

Users will still be able to engage with the area of the screen reserved for the camera, as it will work with touch control. Additionally, Oppo says the display quality won’t be affected.

The company does acknowledge that putting a camera behind a screen will ultimately reduce the photo image quality, with significant problems like haze, glare, and colour cast needing to be resolved.

However, Oppo says it’s developed algorithms that are tuned to the hardware to address these issues, and claims the quality is ‘on par with mainstream devices’.

The company tweeted:

The algorithms behind our USC technology showcased at #MWC19 include haze removal, HDR and white balance resulting in a bezel-less phone, yet with a selfie camera that rivals current smartphones in the market today. #MoreThanTheSeen

It’s not yet known when the new device with under-screen camera will be available to buy, although the company says it will be launched ‘in the near future’.

Pretty impressive. I have a question though: how on Earth will people know where to look when taking a selfie with it?! I have enough difficulty as it is when it’s staring me straight in the face.

Ah well, I guess that’s why they’re the ones working in the tech industry.

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Lucy Connolly

A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).