OPINION : Smartphone technical school trends derive and go , but none have stuck with me quite like the pop - up camera drift from the later 2010s .
At one percentage point there were multiple toss off - up television camera speech sound on the food market , and some , like theZenFone 6 , took it a step further with a rear camera module that could toss around to the front of the phone for rear tv camera - character selfies .
Asus was an outlier more or less , so I ’ll focalize more on the standard pop - up camera system here , aka the tv camera that ’d often pop out of the phone ’s anatomy when called upon . That was the case with popular 2018 - 2020 earphone including theOppo Find XandOnePlus 7 T professional , both of which I thoroughly revel reviewing at the time .
But then , they easy became a rarity until we get to this tip , in 2024 , where there ’s not a unmarried pop - up camera system on any smartphone at any cost compass point .
Sure , it ’s easy to write the tech off as a fun thingumabob to show your mates because , at that full point , none had seen a pop - up camera system in a phone , but there ’s much more to it than that .
For one , moving the television camera module frees up valuable screen blank space , name screen look much cleaner than those with a unmarried ( or sometimes double ) hole - punch camera setup somewhere close to the top of the screen .
It may seem like a small variety , but it make a Brobdingnagian to the experience on offering , so much so that manufacturers like ZTE are desperately trying to replicate the experience with under - exhibit cameras .
However , as we ’ve meet from recent options like theZTE Axon 40 Ultra , UDC cameras have to take picture through a video display , much to the detriment of the tone of the simulacrum produced . Y’know what did n’t make number with photo quality ? Pop - up photographic camera .
In fact , the superfluous infinite available to manufacturer with a pop - up camera lens compared to regular in - concealment selfie camera meant that the quality from some of these electron lens was in reality salutary . It ’s a trend that I feel would ’ve conduct on gain ground , had toss off - up camera stay around for a footling longer .
And more than anything else , it added some much - require graphic symbol to smartphones at a meter when they were all becoming a small same - y.
So then , why did the pop out - up tv camera system go the mode of the Dodo ?
I ca n’t say for certain , but I imagine it has a lot to do with potential durability yield and the lack of self-assurance in the long - term performance of the moving module by consumers . It ’s an understandable concern , but I ’d argue that it ’s one that ’s quickly relieve once you use a phone with a down - up camera system .
These things were n’t design to be delicate ; many had specific features and system in place to ensure the system would continue to officiate for hundreds of thousands of move , while others , like the Asus ZenFone 6 , would mechanically draw in its flipping television camera module when it detected it was being drop .
Even then , I forcefully move the camera faculty myself quite often ( it was a great restlessness spinner backup ) and had no issues .
It was also potential down to the fact that phones ca n’t be IP68 - rated with a pop - up tv camera system – there were n’t any available at the prison term , anyway .
However , with more delicate phones uncommitted in 2024 – foldables , I ’m looking at you – it ’s clear that consumer are willing to take a risk as long as there ’s a absolved welfare on offer .
As such , I feel that pop - up photographic camera plump away too soon , and we could now be seeing much cleaner displays and in high spirits - res selfie television camera than what we in reality see from most smartphones available right now .
I suppose we ’ll never know …
