Off screen cameras and mobile phones are not yet popular, what are the difficulties?

The emergence of off screen camera technology has brought new hope to the popularization of truly comprehensive screen phones.In September 2020, ZTE Tianji Axon205G mobile phone was released, marking the commercial landing of off screen camera phones

The emergence of off screen camera technology has brought new hope to the popularization of truly comprehensive screen phones.

In September 2020, ZTE Tianji Axon205G mobile phone was released, marking the commercial landing of off screen camera phones. Ordinary consumers can finally buy an off screen camera phone and enjoy a complete and truly comprehensive screen without digging holes.

ZTE Tianji Axon205G

ZTE Tianji Axon205GXiaomi MIX 4Galaxy Z Fold3 5G

Xiaomi MIX4

Manufacturers have followed up one after another, giving people a feeling that off screen camera technology could quickly become popular at the time, but currently, this is not the case.

Does the heat of the off screen camera fade?

This year, there is very little information related to off screen camera phones. Although the Nubia Z50Ultra released at the beginning of the year and the recently released Red Devil 8SPro series all use the technology of the camera under the screen, the overall popularity is not as good as before.

Nubia Z50Ultra

According to the information disclosed by the digital chat station, this year some flagship models of previous generation off screen front cameras have returned to perforated screens, and some full screen foldable screens without holes have also chosen to be perforated, resulting in a decrease in the popularity of off screen front cameras. This means that there may not be many new phone products using off screen camera technology in the coming period.

Is the technology of off screen cameras mature?

The principle of off screen camera technology is not complex. When not taking photos, the off screen camera area can display content normally, achieving a complete screen display effect without any gaps such as punched holes or bangs; When the front facing camera needs to take photos, the area becomes transparent, allowing light to pass through the screen for imaging.

The difficulty of off screen camera technology lies in how to simultaneously balance screen display and selfie imaging effects.

In order to make the camera area under the screen transparent, the manufacturer will readjust the pixels, driver circuits, etc. in this area, including reducing pixel density, reducing pixel volume, etc; It is these adjustments that have reduced the display effect of the camera area under the screen.

From the commercial landing of the new generation of off screen camera phones, the display effect difference between the off screen camera area and the surrounding main screen is small, with strong integration and no obvious "screen effect"; In usage scenarios such as displaying images or text content, there is no particularly significant difference between the camera area under the screen and the main screen. Only when viewed closely or in special scenarios such as pure white highlighting can relatively significant differences be seen.

A complete screen without holes can indeed bring a stunning immersive experience. Currently, the usability of the off screen camera in terms of screen is very high, and it can already bring a good experience. But at the same time, we also need to pay attention to the imaging effect of the front camera.

Although the imaging effect of the front facing camera has significantly improved compared to the first generation product, reducing the haziness of photos, there is a significant gap in terms of image clarity, color, and glare control compared to mainstream perforated screen phones. The imaging effect is at a disadvantage, and it is more pronounced in environments with poor lighting.

The display effect and imaging effect of the camera area under the screen are to some extent mutually constrained. If the light transmittance is good, it is likely to weaken the screen display effect; The good display effect may also affect the imaging effect of the front camera below the screen.

Why do most manufacturers not use off screen cameras?

From the development of off screen camera technology, it is still difficult for this technology to simultaneously balance screen display and front camera imaging effects. Although good screen effects can already be achieved, the quality of selfies taken in front of the screen will have a significant disadvantage, making it difficult to reach the level of mainstream perforated screen phones.

Although many people do not usually use the selfie function, there are actually many application scenarios for front facing cameras. In addition to taking selfies, video calls and APP facial recognition verification all require the use of a front facing camera, which still has its value.

When the poor imaging effect of the off screen camera reduces the user experience, the determination of mobile phone manufacturers to adopt off screen cameras will be further reduced, after all, the upgrading of innovative features must be based on ensuring the basic experience.

At the same time, cost is also an issue. According to a report on Weibo by the digital chat station in March, the near cost FHD+off screen front camera experience is not as good as the high-quality QHD+perforated screen, and most manufacturers have turned to a practical approach. When the cost is close, QHD+perforated screen appears more practical.

It is not difficult to see that adopting off screen camera technology requires compromises in certain experiences. For stable manufacturers, the current off screen camera technology is still not suitable for popularization.

What other method is there to achieve a truly comprehensive screen?

Mobile phone manufacturers have always been committed to increasing the proportion of mobile phone screens, with screen borders becoming increasingly narrow, and front facing cameras becoming the "nail households" that cannot be separated to achieve truly comprehensive screens. In order to accommodate the front facing camera, compromise solutions such as bang screens, water drop screens, and perforated screens have emerged, all of which sacrifice the integrity of the screen.

Mobile phone manufacturers' obsession with truly comprehensive screens is beyond imagination. In order to achieve a truly comprehensive screen effect, mobile phone manufacturers have tried various solutions.

The classic Xiaomi MIX adopts an innovative inverted front camera design, which brings a full screen effect without perforations, but it has a large chin and is not convenient to use the front camera.

Xiaomi MIX

The vivo NEX released in 2018 features a raised and lowered camera design, bringing a stunning and truly comprehensive screen effect. This design has been followed up by many manufacturers. Elevating cameras have been popular for some time, and there have also been sliding cover mechanical structure designs and front and rear dual screen designs. These special designs are all designed to provide consumers with a truly comprehensive screen experience without perforations, but these solutions either increase the weight of the body or shorten the battery life, which will bring certain "side effects".

In the 5G era, the lifting camera scheme was gradually abandoned by mobile phone manufacturers due to its complex mechanical structure, occupying more internal space of the body, increasing the thickness and weight of the body, and other issues.

Meizu 16th adopts a micro hole front camera design with an extremely narrow frame, placing a small aperture front camera on the frame, which can also maintain a complete and comprehensive screen effect. The front camera image quality is also guaranteed, but the disadvantage is that the top frame will be slightly wider than other schemes. This design scheme has received recognition from many users, but it has not been able to persist.

Meizu 16th

Due to various reasons, the above truly comprehensive screen scheme has not been consistently used by the manufacturer. Nowadays, most mobile phones adopt perforated screen design, and there are few innovative phones in screen form. The highly anticipated off screen camera solution also failed to become mainstream.

Summary

Ultimately, one of the main reasons why off screen camera technology itself is not mature enough is that it has not yet become widespread.

At present, the screen display and front imaging of off screen camera technology are interdependent, and the actual performance of these two parts has not yet met the needs of the majority of the population, which is also a major challenge faced by off screen camera technology. Off screen camera technology can only better meet market demand after achieving greater breakthroughs and further reducing costs.

At present, the mainstream perforated screen should only be a transitional solution. Although offline camera technology may not be popularized in the future, I believe it will eventually achieve a truly comprehensive screen effect. In this process, more manufacturers need to join the innovation exploration queue and create more possibilities.

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