New OPPO patents suggest the OEM intends to hide punch-hole camera within on-screen icon

2019 - or the first half of it, at least, - is looking like the year of the in-display selfie camera already. This state-of-the-art bezel-reducing screen technology has already made an appearance in one or two phones already, and is also rumored for inclusion in the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S10 line. It also appears that OPPO will also jump on this bandwagon. This OEM may incorporate the 'punch-hole camera' into the R17's successor or the second-generation Find X this year.

Two patents, unearthed and posted by LetsGoDigital, have suggested that OPPO's approach to this new kind of display will not be quite as straightforward as those of Samsung or Honor. These companies have simply presented their punch-hole cameras as circular interruptions to an otherwise full-screen display in an upper corner, regardless of which part of the UI shown. OPPO, on the other hand, want it to blend in more. Its new patents show a row of icons running along the top of a display, one of which is that of a camera - the lens of which is in fact the hole in the display.

One of these patents shows the 'icon-camera' as in preceding models from other OEMs. In the other, however, it is the second icon from the left. The diagrams suggest a single-sensor punch-hole camera; this is somewhat of a shame, as a prior leak had hinted at an R19 with a dual in-display camera. This elaboration on the technology, like those found in some Galaxy S10-line renders, look more like capsules then circles. Should the newer leak prove true, however, it suggests a significant overhaul for OPPO's Android skin, ColorOS, has been done to accomodate an in-display camera.

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