Under-screen cameras are the upcoming smartphone trend that will take the industry by storm. ZTE built first impressions of the tech with the Axon 20 5G and followed that up with an improved implementation in the Axon 30 5G not too long ago.
OPPO has already revealed the prototype of its third-generation under-screen camera (USC). Samsung is also expected to join the bandwagon with the Galaxy Z Fold 3. Xiaomi, however, might beat them to the punch with its Mi Mix 4 on August 11, a day before the Galaxy Unpacked event.
The Mi Mix has always been Xiaomi’s test-mule for innovative or unorthodox designs to supply a full-screen mobile display. The Mi Mix commenced that tradition by minimizing the camera’s area to a fragile chin, while the newest Mi Mix 3 utilized a pop-up camera to a similar effect. This year, Xiaomi is seemingly going the additional mile by finally bringing its own UDC implementation to the market for the first time.
Xiaomi has already reached its third iteration of this under-display camera technology, just like OPPO. In addition, it hasn’t been used for any commercial smartphone as of yet. If this latest leak from Digital Chat Station on Weibo is true, this might finally change with the Mi Mix 4.
A brief video shows the display board that Xiaomi will allegedly use for the upcoming smartphone. It’s flexible, which in itself is already impressive, allowing Xiaomi to implement a curved-edge design for the Mi Mix 4. Nevertheless, the more significant finding is that the under-display camera is almost unnoticeable until the screen is turned off.
This year’s generation of UDCs appears to have fixed the pixel density issue on the ZTE Axon 20 5G from last year. However, it remains to be seen if they also need sufficiently addressed the image quality issue inherent during this quiet technology. Supported Xiaomi’s own teaser, the Mi Mix 4 is about to debut in China on August 10, each day before Samsung’s Unpacked 2021.