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Under display camera to take on the notch?

Ramanathan Iyer

Under display cameras to take on notch? Front-facing cameras have undergone a lot of changes from notches to dewdrop to pop up to flip. Are the front cameras finally going to settle under the display with Under display-cameras? With the advent of Apple's iPhone X, all phone manufacturers have followed one of the ugliest trends, the notch display.

Introduction to Under Display Camera

The notches started with the iPhone as to place the components of a phone which cannot be placed under the display, like the camera. Starting with iPhone's wide notch, we have come a long way towards the medium notch, waterdrop notch and punch holes. And now, as the race for full-screen displays has started, various companies have implemented various gimmicks like the pop-up selfie cameras, motorized flip cameras, shark fin cameras and many more. But, it's time now for a complete pure makeover of these gimmicks. Yes, you guessed it right. This article's about the advent of under-screen cameras, their working and their scope in future. So, what are we waiting for? Let's find out!

Technology

Two companies, Oppo and Xiaomi have come forward with their under-screen camera technology. Let's study them in detail.

A basic OLED screen is made of three layers, the cathode, the light pixels and the anode. The reason why companies use notches for cameras is that the camera lenses need a clear view in front of them so that light can pass through it. This lens couldn't be placed under the display because the cathode and anode layers are not transparent, which means light cannot pass through them.

An analogy for Under display Camera

For better understanding, imagine the display as a sandwich. The two bread slices are the cathode and anode layers and the stuffing inside is the light pixels. The camera lenses cannot be placed under the sandwich because light cannot pass through the sandwich.

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But what if, the sandwich becomes invisible? Then even if the camera lens is placed under the sandwich, light can pass through the transparent sandwich, and at the same time, the sandwich tastes the same! What I mean is phone manufacturers have come up with a new technique in which they would make the cathode and anode layers transparent. So, how's it gonna work?

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This job will be done with customized displays. A small portion of the screen under which the lens has to be placed will have a transparent cathode and anode layers with low reflective glass. During normal usage, the display will work normally, though a little dark spot is slightly visible as of now. And when the selfie camera is turned on, the screen above the lens goes lightless, i.e. dark so that light rays can fall directly from the outside to the lens. Though companies have admitted that the image quality is not the best and the images experience problems of glaring, blurring and reflection.

Current status of Under Display Camera

This technology was assumed to have launched around 5 years later, but it seems the companies to have become tired of the notches. Oppo had launched this technology in the Mobile World Congress 19 whereas Xiaomi is reported to have already started mass manufacturing of custom displays. Since this is the first generation of new technology, we don't expect it to be the best at first sight. Which means selfie lovers may have to wait to get such tech at full Swing and power. Nevertheless, it is the go-to tech to get rid of the ugly notches, and the transition towards a new trend seems imminent.

So, what do you think about the under-screen cameras? Are they the best alternative to notches? Let us know in the comments.

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