Xiaomi’s Senior VP, Wang Xiang went on a tweeting rampage overnight releasing a series of slides that detail how the company’s new under-screen camera tech works.
The TL;DR version is that the area of the screen that covers the camera can turn transparent, which in turn allows light through to the sensor.
The advantage this method has over other pinhole solutions swirling the market is that the size of the sensor isn’t dictated by the size of the hole allowing light through. This means larger sensors, better quality images and more light.
There is a downside though, and while Xiang hypes it up saying that the tech “could be the ultimate solution for a Full Screen Display”, rival Oppo, who also announced a similar tech, have admitted “there’s bound to be some loss in optical quality”.
The tech can only improve though and now with under screen finger print readers the reality of a true full screen display are upon us.
Where some will continue to have issues are the likes of Apple who’s notch doesn’t just serve as a home for a camera but also for depth and other sensors that allow FaceID to work and are unlikely to go back to using a finger print.