China manufacturer is reinventing the smartphone camera

We are already used to camera experiments from the Chinese manufacturer Oppo. Now a very special pop-up camera is taking shape that extends out of the back of the smartphone. There is no need for a bulging hump.

Oppo: reinventing the pop-up camera

If Oppo has its way, then we are still a long way from the end of the evolution of smartphone cameras. The manufacturer has now published a short video on Twitter in which a unusual concept you can see. Conventional pop-up cameras are simply “annoying,” says Oppo. So they worked on a special solution as an in-house development (source: Oppo on Twitter).

Unlike existing pop-up cameras that protrude from the top of the housing when a photo or video is taken, Oppo has taken a different route. Here the camera moves backwards. The advantage is obvious: There is no need for a camera hump and the back of the phone stays flatter.

One possible point of criticism is anticipated in the video. What happens if the smartphone slips out of hand with the camera extended and falls on the floor? Oppos’s concept apparently provides that the mobile phone recognizes movement and itself the camera retracts automatically. This type of fall detection was already used in the OnePlus 7 Pro.

Oppo is also experimenting with invisible selfie cameras:

Opposite pop-up camera with better zoom?

Even if the announcement does not mention zoom capabilities, a cell phone with such a camera could certainly provide a decent optical magnification. Details are still pending. At least one can guess that the manufacturer is the Mechanism designed to be watertight Has.

We’ll probably find out more about the Oppo pop-up camera then on December 14 at Inno Day 2021. Here, however, a foldable Oppo smartphone could steal the show.