We all thought that 2020 was going to be the year of under display camera. We saw semi-working concepts last year but it seemed the holy grail was close. Unfortunately that has not come to fruition, yet. It seems though that the under display camera is ready for mass production.
Xiaomi have posted a video to their social media channels showing the new camera in operation and posted to their blog just how it works.
We’re proud to present the latest masterpiece from our Xiaomi engineers: 3rd Generation Under-Display Camera Technology! True full-screen displays are just around the corner! We're planning on putting this into mass production next year. Stay tuned! #InnovationForEveryone pic.twitter.com/DrKeL8wZUg
— Shou Zi Chew (@ShouZiChew) August 28, 2020
In the blog Xiaomi state that their new 3rd Generation Under-screen Camera Technology is now able to “perfectly disguise the front camera under the phone’s screen without ruining the edge-to-edge display effect”. Sounds like music to our ears.
The version that Xiaomi showed us last year was the second generation apparently and with further development have managed to seemingly perfect the new technology. They have managed to create their own pixel arrangement over the top of the lens. They have also manage to “optimise” their camera algorithm to produce the same performance as those not covered by a display.
The pixel arrangement allows light to pass through the gap area of the sub-pixels while still allowing each pixel to “retain a complete RGB subpixel layout without sacrificing pixel density”. Their new arrangement works so well that the pixel density over the camera is exactly the same as that anywhere else on the display which results in the same brightness, colour gamut and colour accuracy as the rest of the display.
The latest generation of under-display camera technology introduced today brings the ultimate full-screen form factor into reality. Behind all these innovations is not just Xiaomi’s pursuit of ultimate technological excellence, but also the company’s commitment to research and development.
Combined with their new camera optimisation algorithm their new camera is set to offer a “fully updated photography experience”.
The best news is that Xiaomi are ready to put this new technology into mass production and aim to bring it to market next year.
While it is unlikely we will see it land here in any official form you can be sure that other brands are also working on it. While 2020 has been a nightmare with August now bringing us devastating storms, blackouts and now contaminated water on a background of COVID-19 hopefully 2021 is better to us and at least brings us Aussies some new tech in the form of an under-display camera on a smartphone.
