OPPO unveils their Next Generation under-screen camera technology — now where is my hoverboard?

We were told that manufacturers were working on selfie cameras that did away with the notch, the tear drop, the punch and anything else in between but aside from a single phone from ZTE last year we have yet to see it in a commercially-available product. It’s similar to the wait we have had for our hoverboards — thanks Marty McFly.

According to OPPO though this new product may not be so far away after all. Today they have unveiled its next-generation under-screen camera (USC) technology for smartphones. Apparently, they have been able to overcome the software limitations produced by the light refraction from the glass of the display in front of it using their specific hardware and AI algorithms.

The result is a way that not only maintains the integrity and consistency of the entire display while the selfie camera is both in use and not in use but also is able to produce high quality images “with no compromise”.

OPPO’s USC solution introduces several now innovations including:

• Innovative pixel geometry: the new solution shrinks the size of each pixel without decreasing the number of pixels to ensure a 400-PPI high-quality display even in the camera area.
• Transparent wiring and new design: Traditional screen wiring has been replaced with transparent wiring material resulting in a finer display quality with a “smoother visual experience.”
• Improved control of screen accuracy, colour, and brightness: The new technology now has each pixel circuit driving a single pixel as opposed to the traditional 2 pixels. This combined with OPPO’s algorithmic compensation technology allows the colour and brightness of the entire screen to be displayed more precisely.
• Improved reliability and lifespan: The new 1-to-1 pixel circuit mentioned above also results in improving the screen’s lifespan by up to 50%.
• The AI algorithms employed by OPPO reduce some of the negative side effects found in earlier versions of USCs such as blurry images and image glare.

This is OPPO’s third generation of USC solutions and while the results look great at this stage it seems there is no word at this stage just when the technology will make it to consumer smartphones. We hope next year but given the shortage of everything in the world at the moment we doubt it will make it into production before the year after, 2023.

Under screen cameras are coming, just no one knows when — just like my hoverboard.