Xiaomi takes under-display camera technology a step further in unearthed patent by placing a lens on a flip module for front and rear-facing photography ^↺

LetsGoDigital has discovered yet another Xiaomi-related patent, and it seems this particular innovation may already be under development. The files contain the usual technical drawings but there are also some 3D renders of the flip module at the heart of this particular patent, giving the implication that Xiaomi might already be further along with this project. It’s all about creating a smartphone that has an under-display camera that can be used as a hidden selfie snapper and also makes up part of the rear-facing main camera arrangement thanks to a rotating internal part.

In this manner, the owner of such a Xiaomi smartphone would not only benefit from a true full-screen front-facing display unblemished by punch-holes but would also be able to utilize the same lens as an addition to the main camera system. The patent abstract, which is fortunately reproduced in English, states that a “flip module” is “configured to change the orientation of the first lens”, so it can face either the front or the rear of the potential Xiaomi device.

The designers at LetsGoDigital have made the mechanism easier to imagine by enhancing the patent’s line drawings. So in this case, the top lens (marked as component “103” in the patent) is shown in orange (see image below) in the renders. In this sense, the Xiaomi smartphone could be classed as having an under-display flip camera. The flip module itself might take up too much room in the device’s internal space, but it could be refined in such a way to possibly include multiple lenses or even the whole rear camera system, which certainly would be a unique selling point for a demanding smartphone buyer.

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