Xiaomi Patents Smartphone With Internally Rotating Camera

Chinese smartphone vendor Xiaomi has reportedly applied for a patent for an internally rotating camera that can serve as both the front-facing under-screen camera and main rear camera and feature as an under-screen camera.

The camera is expected to rotate either motorized or magnetically, with magnetically being favoured, and the rotating camera could form part of a regular cluster at the rear.

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In their detailed patent, Xiaomi also talks about a laser auto-focus system and includes a sample picture, suggesting the company has a real device in mind.

The camera module will enable the smartphone company to save the cost of having two internal cameras and the under-screen flip camera module is said to eliminate the need to install a separate selfie camera on a smartphone. It also has advantages over today’s pop-up camera module as it will not come into contact with dust and dirt and more photo and video functions can be linked to it.

The company, currently the world’s fourth-largest smartphone brand, launched the third generation of under-display camera technology in 2020, saying that it will officially commence mass production of smartphones featuring this technology in 2021.

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Meanwhile, other leading smartphone vendors like Samsung, Vivo, Oppo are also reportedly planning to launch smartphones with under-display selfie cameras in the near future. So far, ZTE Axon 20 5G is the only smartphone to feature an under-display camera.