Don't have high expectations for first in-display selfie cameras

We’re all expecting in-display selfie cameras to debut in the next 12 to 18 months, but display maker Visionox made headlines yesterday when it revealed that its solution is in mass production.

Now, OPPO vice-president Brian Shen has suggested on Weibo that customers should keep their expectations in check regarding in-display selfie cameras. Check out the machine-translated post below.

The OPPO executive reckons in-display selfie cameras won’t be great right off the bat, saying we’ll see incremental improvements before the tech eventually works as intended. So you might want to wait for second or third generation takes before hopping aboard the bandwagon.

Look at the first phones with in-display fingerprint sensors for proof of how temperamental first-generation tech can be. Devices like the vivo X20 Plus UD paled in comparison to phones with traditional fingerprint scanners at first. These first-generation in-display sensors lacked the speed and accuracy of traditional scanners at the time.

OPPO was the first major brand to demonstrate an under-screen selfie camera back in late 2019, opening the door to a notch-free and popup-free future. We then saw Xiaomi enter the fray by demonstrating a prototype of its own a few months later.

Neither brand has expressed a timeline for the first phone with the technology though. But Visionox reportedly confirmed that the first phones with the tech are coming “soon.” So regardless of actual image quality, it looks like the holy grail of design is almost open us.