Xiaomi has announced that it will begin mass-producing smartphones equipped with its 3rd-gen Under-Display Camera in 2021. Said camera will apparently be "perfectly" concealed so as to not ruin "the edge-to-edge display effect".
According to the press release, Xiaomi's technology allows the light to pass through the sub-pixel gap area, This allows "each single pixel to retain a complete RGB subpixel layout without sacrificing pixel density".
Xiaomi also says that its design has double the number of horizontal and vertical pixels compared to “common solutions on the market”. The design allows the area above the camera to have the same pixel density as the rest of the display area.
In addition, the 3rd-gen Under-Display Camera will use a special circuit design to enable it to conceal more components under the RGB sub-pixels, in order to increase the under-display camera area’s light transmittance.
“From the first generation of the technology that did not leave lab grounds to the second generation that was officially introduced to the public, Xiaomi never stopped exploring under-screen cameras,” said Xiaomi. “In the third-generation of Under-Display Camera Technology, Xiaomi has greatly improved the full-screen effect through self-developed pixel arrangement, and through the optimization of the camera algorithm, allowing it to show the same performance as conventional front cameras.”
While it’s interesting to see Xiaomi moving away from the usual punch holes and dot drops, it’s not the first to announce mass-produced smartphones with an under-display camera. Back in August, ZTE announced that it would launch the world’s first 5G-capable smartphone with an under-display camera in China on 1 September.
