Most smartphones look identical these days, thanks to the numerous innovations that made possible all-screen phone designs. Most of these phones feature thin bezels around the displays, although the screen to body ratio isn’t a perfect 100%. The selfie cam still gets in the way of that, and we’re not ready to give up selfie cameras just yet. Several tech companies are already studying technology to place that camera under the screen, and we already saw the first prototypes of such screens last year. But the first commercial device to actually equip under-display camera tech might be Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Fold successor.
The original Fold will be remembered as Samsung’s embarrassing launch of foldable phones. Samsung had to delay the phone’s launch by five months after early reviewers discovered a few huge design issues that facilitated the destruction of the screen, rendering the phone useless. Samsung fixed the hinge and the screen, and released the Fold last September, before moving on to the next generation of foldable handsets.
The Z Flip, unveiled just a few days ago, is a lot better than the original Fold when it comes to durability, and it’s Samsung’s first foldable to feature an ultra-thin layer of glass on top of the screen. The Galaxy Z Flip is still prone to screen damage, requiring extra care while in use, but it’s definitely a step in the right direction.
The phone also offers a much better screen design compared to the Fold’s hideous side-notch, seen above. The Z Flip features a hole-punch camera on the top, just like Samsung’s non-foldable Galaxy S and Note handsets.
The next Fold, however, will be even more exciting when it comes to screen design. Korean-language Aju News reports the Fold’s successor is codenamed Champ, and will be Samsung’s first phone to feature an under-display camera (UDC). The handset should be launched in July, according to the report.
The selfie cam would not punch through the phone’s screen. Instead, the display will feature several tiny holes that would allow the light to reach the camera, which would be placed under the screen.
That would definitely be a bold move from Samsung, considering that we’re yet to see whether UDC tech is actually viable. Prototypes demoed last year (seen above) showed that the camera performance isn’t quite where you’d expect it to be, and without nailing the camera functionality of UDC designs, smartphone vendors aren’t likely to move forward with the project.
The Champ, which may be called Galaxy Fold 2 or something else, is expected to have a similar design as its predecessor, as well as a similar price tag.
