Xiaomi patents a phone design with pop-up selfie camera

09 June 2020
This phone gives us Motorola One Hyber vibes, only it has an extra main camera.

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  • D
  • AnonD-909757
  • pZQ
  • 10 Jun 2020

Spanky, 10 Jun 2020What about face unlock? You have to constantly pop that „In... moreThere isn't any issue with that, but 2D and camera based face unlock though is a poor biometric security, the worse of them all, poorly secure and can quickly struggle in low light.

You know what is better ? 3D Facial recognition, except that with punch holes or notches, you need a large one to get the minimum required sensors (Dot projector, its receptor, IR camera and its floodlight), the Huawei P40 (Pro and Pro + too) added only IR camera, and already the punch hole is hideously large, and teardrop notches can't allow for that much sensors.

You know what can ?
Thin bezel and pop up (Vivo V17 Pro style/size).

There is absolutely no issue with the pop up having to get out and back in for face unlock, it is literally designed for that, and before you say that old debunked myth, NO, it isn't slower, the OnePlus 7(t) Pro face unlock faster than the Samsung S10 and the Huawei P30 Pro and is only beaten by the Realme X with such low timing that you wouldn't notice it other than trying them side by side.

See, that's why I wrote that much comments about the pop up, they have no issues, only old false and debunked myths, but this is still exactly what killed the popularity they should have had.

And well, almost no one else like the punch hole, I don't mean that it should disappear, but it clearly shouldn't be on so many phones.
Why should apps handle a defect on the display ?
Display always have and should have stayed a one, uninterrupted piece.
Punch hole is an anomaly created by the need to make the notch reduce so small that it disappear, right from the iPhone X to the latest punch hole that tend (and try) to become smaller and smaller.
They are responsible for the loss of many sensors because Android brands copied the appearance of the Apple notch rather than the feature it allow possible, notches and punch holes are totally refractory to the Android echo system with the top notification + statut bar, Apple probably made it as a bezel that allow to move the statut bar out of the display to make more room for apps, certainly not as a dent on the display.
What Android should have taken from the iPhone X was the 3D Facial recognition, not the notch, seriously it look like we are in a failed alternative story like where the smartphone industry became stupid...

    • D
    • AnonD-909757
    • pZQ
    • 10 Jun 2020

    Anonymous, 10 Jun 2020i used it every day as face unlock.. and i hate pop up self... moreMany OnePlus 7(t) Pro and Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro users also use face unlock, and none complained about the pop up, have you ever tested face unlock with a pop up camera or is your assumption just based on what you THINK it feel like ?

      • ?
      • Anonymous
      • PZa
      • 10 Jun 2020

      That doesn't look like the K20/Mi 9T.

        Anonymous, 10 Jun 2020How is a punch hole obsolete? You don't need to ask. Just... moreWhat about face unlock? You have to constantly pop that „Inspector Gadget“ camera up and down, just to unlock your phone.

        I think that punch holes are pretty chic. The biggest problem is with poorly made apps, which don't offer notch screen support. They turn the entire area around the notch/hole into a black bar.

          • ?
          • Anonymous
          • GT0
          • 10 Jun 2020

          Hate selfie so I got a 9t. Nice thing is you know nobody can spy you and no need to place a tape on the screen.

            • ?
            • Anonymous
            • I@a
            • 10 Jun 2020

            Shadocx, 10 Jun 2020But the Vivo Nex A and S came out in 2018 months before the... moreHow is a punch hole obsolete? You don't need to ask.
            Just compare two exact same size amoled displays with very thin bezels all around with the exact same quality and resolution but with one display having an ugly notch/punch hole and another having no notch/no punch hole at all.

            The punch hole trend came about as a lazy, cheap, incompetent and incomplete solution to an engineering problem better solved by a pop up. We've had CD/DVD/BD trays functioning for decades without problems. How pop ups not have the same reliability when they only need to be used for 2-3 years and only frequently by selfie addicts!

              • ?
              • Anonymous
              • xhp
              • 10 Jun 2020

              Anonymous, 10 Jun 2020Most people open up their selfie cam like once a week. I wo... morei used it every day as face unlock.. and i hate pop up selfie camera.. punch hole or water drop is the best solution

                • ?
                • Anonymous
                • I@a
                • 10 Jun 2020

                Anonymous, 10 Jun 2020Most people open up their selfie cam like once a week. I wo... moreYou are 101% correct. Punch holes and notches just RUIN the beauty of an all screen display with very thin bezels all around. My 6.7" A71 Samsung amoled screen is so beautiful with very small bezels all around, only ruined by a stupid punch hole. And I hide the status bar and navigation bar all the time but for most apps, that stupid punch hole is getting in the way, wasting valuable space around it. Many apps just don't ignore it so you still get huge wasted black space.

                  • ?
                  • Anonymous
                  • 6s$
                  • 10 Jun 2020

                  Most people open up their selfie cam like once a week. I would mind if a phone would sport no selfie cam for a cheaper price.
                  I also own a mi 9T and I love it. It's simply more clean compared to punchhole designs as such.

                    • ?
                    • Anonymous
                    • GT1
                    • 10 Jun 2020

                    It looks the same as vivo v15

                      Anonymous, 10 Jun 2020No flagship phone in 2020 should have notches or punch hole... moreBut the Vivo Nex A and S came out in 2018 months before the 1st phone with punch hole, how is punch hole more obsolete?

                        RC255, 10 Jun 2020Pop up is still better than hole punch and Oneplus proved y... moreExactly, and when watching Jerry Rig Everything teardowns of OnePlus phones, you can see they have rubber, mesh and coating every where since the OnePlus 6 or 6T, even more than some phones with official IP rating, and yeah the OnePlus 7 Pro have a red rubber around the pop up selfie camera, we can see it from the inside, just like the red rubber around the Sim card tray.
                        OPPO and Realme flagships have those protections as well, I really don't understand why they aren't IP certified, and is it really needed?
                        I don't think it's free of cost.

                          • ?
                          • Anonymous
                          • I@a
                          • 10 Jun 2020

                          No flagship phone in 2020 should have notches or punch holes. Notches and punch holes are obsolete designs of yesteryears. I don't care about stupid water resistance. They're more hype than real usability compared to all screen displays with no punch holes and notches.

                            • U
                            • Under-screen!
                            • a3b
                            • 10 Jun 2020

                            It is not water resistance that's hard, it's that spying on us is harder with pop-up cameras! I can imagine the lovely(!) under-screen cameras will be adopted in no time!

                              • R
                              • RC255
                              • 0F9
                              • 10 Jun 2020

                              Pop up is still better than hole punch and Oneplus proved you can do water protection with one, on the 7 Pro - which does have some as Dave Lee proved by doing a review with one underwater, it just doesn't have an IP rating.
                              That top camera also couldn't be a periscope given the lack of space once the pop up is down. It wouldn't fit. More likely, they just blocked out a space for other sensors like a ToF.

                                • D
                                • AnonD-641645
                                • tDR
                                • 10 Jun 2020

                                Are you sure that's not Vivo V15?

                                  • ?
                                  • Anonymous
                                  • JKZ
                                  • 10 Jun 2020

                                  I love pop-up cameras. Bought a Mi 9T, in order to avoid looking at that punch hole, or some kind of notch, all the time. The screen on these phones, equipped with the pop-up mechanisms, are just so much better to look at. Therefore, I'm really glad I purchased one.

                                  And I was once in the camp who thought that the pop-up mechanism was a gimmick. Oh, boy, was I wrong.

                                  Now I'm a big fan of these phones. They're great! Especially if you don't take a lot of selfies. (Or almost no selfies at all.)

                                    I wish my Note 9s had a pop-up. The hole is horrible, even when it's on black it's distracting when watching movies and it also has shadows around it.

                                      • ?
                                      • Anonymous
                                      • gWy
                                      • 10 Jun 2020

                                      I hope they make more pop up camera in the future. Water protection isn't a big deal here since it doesn't rain that often.