What started out with a massive number of notch copycats, has now flourished the era of almost bezel-less smartphones, now available even in the sub-Rs 10,000 price bracket in India. However, phone makers still aren’t satisfied and the aim of trimming bezels has led to newer implementations like the hole-punch or pop-up cameras.
1. Vivo V15 Pro
Vivo is known to have kicked off the motorized pop-up selfie camera trend the previous year with the Vivo NEX (also ranks in the list but down below) but is now subsidizing its innovation by making it accessible to the masses with Vivo V15 Pro. The phone maker is confident in its pop-up mechanism and has gone all out with the inclusion of a 32MP (f/2.0) sensor that opens up in just under 0.50 seconds.
The pop-up selfie camera also brings in tow Face Unlock, rising rapidly and taking you to the homescreen under a second. Apart from this, you’ll get a 48MP+8MP+5MP triple-lens setup on the rear to click some awesome shots. The smartphone has a bezel-less display, has been powered by the Snapdragon 675 SoC, and brings all other features you expect from a modern device – except for a USB Type-C port.
Well, it might come as a surprise but Samsung has also stepped up its innovative efforts with the launch of the Galaxy A80. It’s the first smartphone to come with a rotating camera in a sliding module. The idea is similar to what we’ve seen on the Oppo N3 in the past, making it possible to use the 48MP+8MP ultra-wide+TOF depth camera as the front camera.
Expected to Launch in India Soon
If all you really want it to flaunt a smartphone with a pop-up selfie camera, just for the heck of it, and don’t really want to splurge a lot, then the Vivo V15 would be your best pick. It offers the same 32MP motorized pop-up camera we’ve seen on its elder sibling – the Vivo V15 Pro. This pop-up module is also pretty snappy and sturdy, opens in under 0.50 seconds but with no Face Unlock in tow.
4. Oppo F11 Pro
If you’re still looking for an affordable smartphone with a pop-up camera, then the Oppo F11 Pro is also a pretty worthy contender – sitting right next to Vivo V15. The Oppo F11 Pro’s selfie camera is a 16MP (f/2.0) shooter that would help you click some pretty awesome photos. Unlike Vivo, Oppo has centered the pop-up camera, aligning it with the rear cameras, to bring symmetry to the overall design.
5. Oppo Reno
Just when we thought notches or pop-up cameras couldn’t get weird, Oppo has launched its newest lineup – Oppo Reno and it carries a wedge-shaped, shark fin-like pop-up camera. The company has baked into the motorized pop-up a 16MP (f/2.0) sensor, which takes a second at least to open from one edge, and houses the rear soft flashlight as well. There isn’t much delay in the pop-up process and it’s pretty decent.
6. Vivo NEX
Well, Vivo NEX is the smartphone that started it all. It kicked off the pop-up camera trend to make it possible for users to enjoy a bezel-less experience while still being able to click selfies. Though a first-generation smartphone, the NEX is still a great option for users who are looking to buy a powerful device with a pop-up camera, which is an 8MP(f/2.0) sensor.
And finally, we have Oppo’s ambitious effort at creating a fluid and flawless smartphone with no visible camera – either on the front or the rear. We went hands-on with the Oppo Find X earlier last year and the motorized module which raised the upper half of the body was pretty innovative and impressive. Oppo baked a primary 16-megapixel f/2.0 sensor, and a 20-megapixel f/2.2 secondary sensor on the rear, along with a 25MP selfie camera.
The race to further diminish the bezels is still on and more phone makers are looking to board the hype train in the coming month.
Well, if you haven’t been living under a rock for weeks, you would’ve heard that OnePlus has decided to expand its lineup with the OnePlus 7 and we cannot be more excited. The Chinese giant will be launching two smartphones next month, one a flagship killer which will be a minor upgrade over the OnePlus 6T and another a true flagship to rival likes of iPhone XR and Galaxy S10e.
Ever since Redmi spun out from being a lineup to a sub-brand of Xiaomi, the chatter for Redmi’s flagship being in the works caught heat. Well, it seems the rumors were true as Redmi recently teased on Weibo that it will launch a new smartphone with a pop-up selfie camera. There’s no official word on the hardware specs yet but we expect it to be Redmi’s first flagship smartphone and it should be coming in May itself.
Finally, the Chinese brand giving Xiaomi a run for its money in the budget segment now also seems to be gearing up to take on its budget flagship – the Poco F1 or its successor with the launch of a Snapdragon 855-powered smartphone and a pop-up selfie camera.
As per the TENNA listing and rumor mill, Realme is soon launching a flagship and it will possibly sport a 6.5-inch display with no notch or hole-punch. I expect Realme to include a 32MP pop-up selfie camera and 48MP SonyIMX586 primary sensor on the rear. The screenshot captured from a teaser video shows a module similar to that of the Oppo F11 Pro.
While we expected phone makers to carry forward the hole-punch trend to further trim bezels in 2019, it appears like the pop-up camera is gaining more traction and attention from them. Vivo and Oppo have both readily accepted the trend with open arms, but its fiercest competitors including Redmi and Realme are also ready to offer users the same technology – possibly at an even affordable price.
