Under Display Camera — The Evolution, The Future:
The Evolution:
Starting with a quote by Apple CEO Tim Cook, “Anything can change because the smartphone revolution is still in the early stage”. As new technology is emerging in the smartphone industry for decades and engaging interset within users. We have seen many changes in camera (From 10 MP to 108 MP), MicroSD card to Cloud storage, etc. We’ve seen phone manufacturers take creative approaches to achieve the highest possible screen-to-body ratio.
The Last few smartphone industries trying to focus on the camera as most of the user interest lies there. The invention of the upgraded emerged camera has hugely impacted the nature of photography. We saw Selfie camera in Bezel then Notches, as Notches shrunk and we got to punch holes, pop-up, and flipping. Now the latest trend we are listening to and seen is Under display camera. Companies like Oppo and Xiaomi have been showing off demos for years. But ZTE has beaten them to the punch with the first commercial device. ZTE Axon 20 5G is the world’s first phone to integrate its front-facing camera underneath the screen. As this technology is new The under-display integration is extremely noticeable on light backgrounds. There’s a square patch of the screen that exhibits a clear dithering effect, making it appear much lower resolution than the rest of the panel.
The Technology behind it:
Using this technology camera can capture images through the screen. Above the camera, there is a special film with an anti-reflective coating that maximizes the transparency of the screen without ruining the quality of the image. The screen consists of seven layers — the protective glass, a polarizer, touch panel, an encapsulation glass, the OLED panel, and other elements needed for the smooth performance of any modern phone. Companies like ZTE decided to replace the top portion with a more transparent material. So the camera that’s located on the top part of the display gets more light due to the higher transparency. In the process phone’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). Since the part above the camera has a different, thinner, and more transparent material than the rest of the display, so there is a slight shift in colors.
The Future:
As this technology is new in the smartphone industry, under-screen camera technology will take some time. Hence, companies will be hesitant to use it in an expensive model. 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. Maybe after our smartphone will also immediately see a laptop with a camera that is also placed behind the screen. Similarly, with a monitor or smart TV screen, we can do face time or video calls directly through the camera behind the TV screen, with no need for additional cameras. And there are many more devices that can be applied under this camera display application.
