Affiliate links on Android Authority may earn us a commission. Learn more.
Leak shows newer under-display selfie cameras could be almost invisible
- A recent leak of the ZTE Axon 30 shows that second-generation under-display selfie cameras could be quite hidden.
- This stands in stark contrast to the Axon 20, which barely hid the selfie cam.
- Of course, we have no idea if ZTE was also able to increase the actual photographic quality of the camera.
In 2020, ZTE made history by releasing the first commercial smartphone with a selfie camera hidden under the display. Unfortunately, there were two big problems with the technology. First, it was easy enough to see the hidden camera — check the photo above. Second, the images the camera produced were pretty low in quality.
See also: Survey: You wouldn’t settle for anything less with under-display cameras
The good news is that it appears second-generation under-display selfie cameras could improve on at least the first point. Thanks to leaker Digital Chat Station, we now have a leaked image of the upcoming ZTE Axon 30. The image suggests that the selfie camera could barely be visible.
Obviously, there could be all manners of digital manipulation going on in this photo. However, DCS is a reliable leaker, so we’re going to operate under the assumption that the photo is undoctored.
Check it out for yourself below.
Second-gen under-display selfie camera in Axon 30 leak
Honestly, from what we can tell, the selfie camera is basically invisible in the photo above. We won’t jump to any conclusions until we can see it for ourselves, but we are quite excited about the future of under-display selfie cameras.
The big question, though, is whether or not ZTE was able to upgrade the photo quality. Last year’s model produced fuzzy, washed-out images. In low light, selfies looked like they came from a five-year-old phone. Digital Chat Station’s post for this leak makes no mention of ZTE’s advancements in this area, so we’re in the dark for now.
Still, there are a lot of people out there who barely ever use their selfie cameras. Even if ZTE wasn’t able to improve the quality much, buyers might still be interested in this now that the camera isn’t as much of a distraction.
We still don’t have any word on when we’ll see the ZTE Axon 30. However, some of Samsung’s upcoming foldables are rumored to have under-display selfie cameras, so we could see those before the ZTE model.