Smartphone company ZTE has launched the first Android smartphone with a selfie camera under its screen.
The ZTE Axon 20 5G, which has no price tag nor launch date, does not have a notch nor a cutout for the front-facing camera as many others do.
The phone is only available in China, and as such, it remains to be seen how well the camera will perform with a screen in its way.
In order to ensure its performance good enough to warrant moving the 32MP camera, ZTE ‘s latest smartphone has some other neat tricks.
A high transparency material apparently improves light input to the front camera, while an “independent dual-control chip and integrated driver circuits” are used to ensure the colours between the camera and the display sync properly.
ZTE has also used a “unique driver circuit layout” to avoid interference and impact on the front camera, and a “special matrix” to optimise pixels and improve display consistency, the company claims.
It also says that it has “optimised the performance of the camera under several lighting conditions”
As well as the front-facing camera, the speakers and also the fingerprint scanner have been moved under the screen.
As well as its headline feature, the Axon 20 has a 6.92-inch OLED display, while on the back is a four-camera setup: a main 64MP lens, an 8MP wide-angle lens, and a macro and depth camera each with a 2MP resolution.
It comes in two configurations: one with 6GB of Ram and 128GB of storage, and another with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.
Currently, the phone is only available for pre-order in China; there is no word yet if the phone will be released internationally. The Independent has reached out to ZTE for more information.
ZTE might have beaten other manufacturers to the punch with its smartphone, but it is not the only one planning to hide the front-facing camera under the screen.
Oppo released its USC technology (short for under-screen camera) last year, but only demonstrated it on a prototype device rather than one available for purchase.
Xiaomi has also said that it will release a phone with similar technologies next year.
