Nokia has patented a smartphone with a really odd rotating camera. This patent has been spotted on USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office).
This will not be the first smartphone with a rotating camera, not even close. We’ve seen various models with pop-up and rotating cameras thus far. This implementation will, however, be a bit different than what we’re used to.
Future Nokia smartphone may include a truly odd rotating camera
Nokia may include a camera that will rotate 360 degrees at the very top of the phone. The camera lens resides on one of the edges of the module, and is able to change direction based on the audio source.
A couple of microphones seem to be envisioned on this smartphone, to track the audio source. The phone will do this automatically, of course. This way, the camera will film whoever is talking in an audio clip.
We’re not really sure how would this work in practice. That module will be able to rotate 360 degrees, but seemingly won’t be able to rotate up and down. It could be more useful than filming without a rotating camera, as long as you have to film yourself, but not as useful as Nokia seems to think.
Also, how would this work when more people are talking? Will it be able to focus on a voice from only one person, and keep filming that person all the time? There are a lot of questions that come to mind.
We wonder how durable a phone like this would be
There’s also the durability factor. The fact that the entire top of the phone is moving, may not be great for durability. Breaking that camera module probably won’t be that hard if you drop your phone or something. Nokia may have a solution for that, though, or it may be more durable than it looks.
It is worth noting this is just a patent at this point. Companies patent all sorts of devices, and that doesn’t guarantee that those devices will make it to market. We really doubt Nokia will make something like this, but we’ll have to wait and see.
