OnePlus phone to feature 'disappearing' cameras. What does it mean?
What's the story
In a matter of days, OnePlus plans to grace the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2020 with a futuristic 'Concept One' smartphone. Until recently, there was hardly any information about how this device would look like, but thanks to the folks at Wired, a very interesting feature has surfaced: Concept One will have disappearing cameras. Yes, you heard that right! Here's what it means.
Design
Concept One's rear cameras will go invisible
OnePlus had previously said that Concept One would demonstrate an alternate design for the future of smartphones. Now, building on that claim, the company has shared a teaser video that shows a triple rear camera setup that goes invisible when not needed. According to Wired, this is the work of a special glass technology that the Chinese giant has used on the phone's back.
Tech
McLaren's electrochromic glass masks the cameras
To bring the industry-first invisible camera set-up to life, OnePlus is using electrochromic glass, an electronically tintable glass used in the windows of high-end cars and airplanes. It has been sourced from the company's long-time partner McLaren and placed on the center spine of Concept One to change its shade and make the cameras appear and disappear, according to your requirements.
Working
And, how exactly does this work?
The electrochromic glass has a tendency to change its tint whenever triggered by electrical signals. As such, whenever the user opens the camera on Concept One, the glass, which is black by default, gets the electrical signal to change its shade and show the camera. When closed, it goes back to being black, hiding the camera and giving a uniform look to the back.
Other elements
Concept One packs race-car like aesthetics
As per Wired, the rest of the design of the phone carries a racecar-like aesthetic, especially the back of the phone. The unit the outlet accessed had a Papaya Orange leather back with stitching along the edges and the electrochromic glass running down the center. OnePlus CEO Pete Lau says the glass just adds 0.1mm thickness to the overall thickness of the concept phone.
Availability
You won't be seeing this phone in the market
While the idea of a OnePlus phone with disappearing cameras on the back sounds really tempting, it is worth noting that the company isn't planning to sell it in the market. After the full reveal at CES, OnePlus will test the device with select users and use their feedback to make something similar, presumably using the same tech, for more users.