While the market for the under-display cameras is still in its initial stages, Samsung is exploring more opportunities with the pop-up camera styles. Recently, Samsung has patented a weird 180-degree rotating pop-up camera system.
This camera when pops-up makes the primary set of cameras work as a selfie camera. This will be music to the ears for selfie lovers. Well, this is not the first time Samsung is exploring the rotating pop-up camera genre.
Back in 2019, Samsung launched Galaxy A80, which rocked the rotating camera module in which the primary cameras rotates and become selfie cameras. This trick does help to take selfies with improved image quality.
According to LetsGoDigital, a patent published on January 2021 by the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Office) showcases a Samsung phone with a rotating camera array.
The phone gets a bezel-less design thanks to the rotating camera module. However, if a user triggers the selfie button, the rear camera slides up and rotates 180-degree to face the user for clicking selfies.
Although this module allows the phone’s primary camera to act as a selfie camera, its mechanism is hugely complicated. The patent reveals the module can be further tweaked to house two rear cameras. So, more room for a wide-angle lens.
A bevy of gears and a propeller shaft will present durability problems
In theory, it all sounds good. But in reality, the picture is a bit different. Notably, the mechanism involves a bevy of gears, motors, and propeller shaft, which will definitely raise durability concerns.
The whole camera mechanism looks complicated. Moreover, with a host of moving parts, one should not even think about repairing this module. So, dropping this phone should not be even a thought for the user, if Samsung adopts this camera module.
But Samsung may be right in exploring more opportunities with pop-up cameras. This is because of the fact that under-display camera technology is still far polished, and a lot of work needs to be done to improve the picture quality.
Personally, my OnePlus 7 Pro has never given me any issues whatsoever with the pop-up camera. It still seems as solid as it was at the time of purchase.
Samsung is working on a successor to the Galaxy A80, namely the Galaxy A82. There is no sign that Galaxy A82 will be the device to sport this quirky camera module.
Nothing is confirmed yet, and we may see scrap this idea entirely. So, all we can do is wait and watch for further developments.