Xiaomi may have patented a breakthrough in its under-display camera-phone tech

Under-display selfie cameras may be a marquee feature for the super-premium phones of the near future. The screens in question may be capable of "hiding" the front-facing sensor while not in use, yet be able to become transparent in the areas immediately above the same component when in use. At least, this seems to be the idea behind a new patent filed by the OEM Xiaomi in China.

This claim shows just such a display-and-camera arrangement, in which the relevant sensor could be placed either in 1 corner of the screen (like most punch-hole cameras of today) or in its mid-line (like most Samsung punch-hole cameras of today). This, however, is nothing new: Xiaomi has patented similar technology in the past.

On the other hand, this older IP indicated that the company could only achieve the under-display effect by segregating the camera in question into its own little secondary display within the main panel.

The fresh patent - approved by the China Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) on April 24, 2020 - indicates no such work-arounds: the camera is simply in a display capable of concealing it as necessary. Therefore, some next-gen Xiaomi phones may stand to gain such truly full-screen specs.