LAS VEGAS—As smartphones are loaded up with more and more rear cameras, OnePlus has come up with a way to stop from becoming an eyesore: Placing the cameras behind glass that can switch between being transparent and opaque.
At CES, the Chinese vendor is demonstrating the feature with a concept device fitted with electrochromic glass, a material through which you can send an electric charge to make it opaque. Electrochromic glass has been around for years now, and can be found on planes, sports cars, and building windows to act as both a privacy filter and as a way to instantly dim a room.
OnePlus essentially took the technology and applied it to a smartphone, placing the electrochromic glass over the rear-facing camera modules. The result is the company's "invisible camera" system. When you need to take a photo, the electrochromic glass will automatically switch into transparent mode in 0.7 seconds. But once you're done, the glass will go dark, hiding the camera modules from view.
It's a neat and subtle little trick, but some might argue it's a gimmick. This is the first time OnePlus has come to CES with a concept device, so fans and tech industry observers may have expected a more ambitious device, like a foldable phone, as opposed to a product that simply hides the rear-facing cameras.
However, OnePlus executives say their concept device is trying to a solve an unsightly problem with today's smartphone design. "We see this trend where there will be more and more cameras, where you'll have four and then five of them on a phone," OnePlus CEO Pete Lau said at a Monday press conference here. "From a design standpoint, this isn't a good design to see all these camera holes on the back."
We tried the concept device and noticed the glass doesn't hide the cameras completely when switched into opaque mode. If you look hard enough, you can still see the outlines when the glass faces bright light. But for the most part, the lenses blend into the strip of opaque glass. When you activate the camera, the same strip of glass becomes transparent, but will dim again when you switch out or close the camera app.
(The shader is activated on the left, making the camera image slightly dimmer.)
Interestingly, the electrochromic glass isn't simply a decorative feature. You can turn it on when you want to snap a picture. The glass will partially dim, becoming a pair of sunglasses for the phone's camera system. This can be useful for removing glare or excess brightness from images you want to snap.
OnePlus designed the invisible camera feature over an 18-month period with the help of sports car maker McLaren, which has also been using the electrochromic glass in its vehicles. However, the glass on the OnePlus concept device was made to be exceptionally thin, at 0.53 millimeters, so that it could be used over the smartphone's exterior casing.
Outside of the invisible camera system, there's not much new with the concept device. It's basically a OnePlus 7T Pro. However, it did come fitted inside a snazzy, hand-stitched leather casing that matches the look of the McLaren 720S sports car.
OnePlus is remaining mum on when the invisible camera system will come to the company's phones. The vendor still needs more time to test the technology, and its durability, before commercializing the feature. Nevertheless, the electrochromic glass doesn't add any significant cost to the phone, nor does it use much battery life, said OnePlus product manager Xi Zeng. The same glass is equal in strength with the protective glass on current OnePlus devices.
So it sounds like the system can easily become a staple across all of the company's phones, without raising prices or compromising the device's usability. In addition, OnePlus is hinting the same electrochromic glass can be configured to change into other colors outside of black.
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January 07, 2020 at 11:00PM
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Hands-On With OnePlus's 'Invisible Camera' Concept Phone - PCMag.com
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