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ZTE announces the world’s first phone with a behind-the-screen camera

10 points by koolba 6y ago

everdrive 6y ago
Innovation is going in the wrong direction. I'd love if smartphone providers were building cameras with fancier camera covers, that the user could control. The last thing I want is a camera behind the screen that I can't even see. And yes, I know that some have suggested that this will fix the uncanny valley effect during video calls by allowing viewers to look directly at each other rather than upwards, towards a camera. This will not fix it. There are other things causing this effect, such as latency, lighting, lack of a view of full body posture, etc.
- dTal 6y ago
  The main reason this particular iteration won't fix it is that it's right on the screen edge, which will not coincide with your partner's eyes (or you'd be cutting off their head). Also you would both need one in order to make eye contact happen. >There are other things causing this effect, such as latency, lighting, lack of a view of full body posture, etc. I don't believe this. The main uncanny effect is definitely that we're constantly staring past each other, like we're distracted. Latency is bad, but not nearly as bad as that.
- ojilles 6y ago
  Would love to simply not have a camera bump. After all the investments in (I)phone design, it’s the elephant in the room.
- sudosysgen 6y ago
  The camera cant really take a useful picture with the leds in front of it on. So you would be able to know when it's being used.
ethagknight 6y ago
I don’t really understand how the camera could work well when you have a row of light emitters placed right in front of a row of light sensors. Seems like any microabrasion or dust or smudge of grease on the area of the lens will cause significant aberration, unless they simply cut off the leds in the area around the lens while in use. It should have a similar effect to trying to take a picture of snow falling at night with a flash: all you see is the brightly illuminated noise up front
- sudosysgen 6y ago
  They do turn off the leds when taking a picture. It also serves as a kind of privacy saving feature, unless the area turns black you know that no useful picture can be taken.
- sschueller 6y ago
  Transparent OLED and turning them off.

10 points by koolba 6y ago

Innovation is going in the wrong direction. I'd love if smartphone providers were building cameras with fancier camera covers, that the user could control. The last thing I want is a camera behind the screen that I can't even see. And yes, I know that some have suggested that this will fix the uncanny valley effect during video calls by allowing viewers to look directly at each other rather than upwards, towards a camera. This will not fix it. There are other things causing this effect, such as latency, lighting, lack of a view of full body posture, etc.

dTal 6y ago
The main reason this particular iteration won't fix it is that it's right on the screen edge, which will not coincide with your partner's eyes (or you'd be cutting off their head). Also you would both need one in order to make eye contact happen. >There are other things causing this effect, such as latency, lighting, lack of a view of full body posture, etc. I don't believe this. The main uncanny effect is definitely that we're constantly staring past each other, like we're distracted. Latency is bad, but not nearly as bad as that.
ojilles 6y ago
Would love to simply not have a camera bump. After all the investments in (I)phone design, it’s the elephant in the room.
sudosysgen 6y ago
The camera cant really take a useful picture with the leds in front of it on. So you would be able to know when it's being used.

ethagknight 6y ago

I don’t really understand how the camera could work well when you have a row of light emitters placed right in front of a row of light sensors. Seems like any microabrasion or dust or smudge of grease on the area of the lens will cause significant aberration, unless they simply cut off the leds in the area around the lens while in use. It should have a similar effect to trying to take a picture of snow falling at night with a flash: all you see is the brightly illuminated noise up front

sudosysgen 6y ago
They do turn off the leds when taking a picture. It also serves as a kind of privacy saving feature, unless the area turns black you know that no useful picture can be taken.
sschueller 6y ago
Transparent OLED and turning them off.