Credit: Ryan-Thomas Shaw / Android Authority
- OnePlus has patented a way to store the selfie camera in the frame of a phone.
- The company noted in a 23-page patent application that such a device will feature a high screen-to-body ratio.
- It could be OnePlus’ last attempt to create a smartphone screen without interruption.
OnePlus could be working on a way to eliminate cutouts or notches on your smartphones, and no, we’re not talking about putting a pop-up mechanism. Instead, the company appears to be working on a “display device” that fits the selfie shooter into the thin frames of a phone.
Staff of LetsGoDigital spotted a patent document filed by OnePlus with the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO). The 23-page documentation describes a OnePlus phone with an OLED display. A hole for the selfie camera is made in the top panel covered with a “transparent cover plate”.
The patent application describes this display device as having a “high screen-to-body ratio, low production cost, high throughput and high product reliability”.
While on-screen selfie cameras are the industry’s next destination, the technology is not yet ready to take off. The Axon 20 5G from ZTE is an excellent example of how reliable on-screen cameras can still be a bit far. Our readers can also purchase the first camera phones on display.
Meanwhile, the patented OnePlus solution looks like an effective way to create a seamless display. However, as it is just that, a patent, we are not sure if the company takes the commercialization of design seriously. We are sure that we will not see anything like this in the OnePlus 9 series, as the leaked renderings already show a hole in the screen.
For now, all eyes are on OnePlus’ alleged link to Hasselblad for its next flagships. Whether or not this new selfie camera is at the top of the OnePlus priority list, nobody knows.