Forget iPhone 13 — this game-changing phone will let you upgrade the camera

Forget iPhone 13 — this game-changing phone volition let you upgrade the camera

(Epitome credit: Oppo)

Always since the iPhone Ten arrived in 2017, people have been griping nigh the camera notch, and information technology'southward even so very much alive in the iPhone 12. And while other manufacturers take found innovative means to endeavour to kill information technology — from pop-up mechanisms to pivot-hole cameras in the screen — null has quite felt like the perfect solution.

At present Oppo, itself no stranger to killing the notch, has some other idea. A new patent uncovered by 91mobiles shows a modular design where the rear camera tin can be removed for selfies. It besides means that you would be able to upgrade the phone's photographic camera over time.

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When fastened, the camera functions as normal, letting you take photos by pointing the rear of the camera at the subject. When you want a selfie, though, you can pop out the camera module and snap away, simply pointing it at the subject.

A picture from Oppo's modular camera patent — (Image credit: Oppo/91mobiles)

Non merely does the patent mention NFC, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth for connectivity, only it'due south besides shown to have a USB Type-C connector, assuasive it to be attached to the phone's charging port for a more conventional selfie feel.

All of this requires a built-in lithium-ion battery so the camera will function when away from it dwelling house. We would imagine that would piece of work like the Samsung Galaxy Note 20's Due south Pen – something that tops up its charge when docked.

Modular skepticism

Oppo modular camera phone — (Image credit: 91Mobiles)

On paper it's an idea with plenty of merits. Not only does this concept ditch the notch in a more practical manner than past solutions (mechanical popular-up mechanisms have always added weight and raised reliability questions), but rear cameras tend to be meliorate specced than their forepart facing counterparts.

That ways you should theoretically get a improve class of selfie from a phone like this. Information technology also ways that you could potentially upgrade your phone with a better camera module some fashion downwardly the line.

Merely despite this, the history of modular phones isn't a specially happy ane. Take the LG G5, for example. That handset allowed users to physically clip G5 "friends" to the device, improving the functionality via add-ons – including a groovy photographic camera enhancement.

Just a handful of these friends were ever made, and the experiment was abandoned by the fourth dimension the LG G6 rolled effectually.

More successful in terms of longevity and user friendliness, if not commercial success, was Motorola's Moto Mods. These magnetically clipped to the back of Moto Z phones, calculation a party speaker, better camera, game grip and more. Crucially, these add together-ons worked betwixt generations, meaning your actress investment was theoretically worthwhile if you stuck with Motorola, just we haven't seen a handset supporting them since terminal year's Moto Z4, and so it too is likely dead.

What near nether-display cameras?

Oppo's idea is intriguing. Merely there are other means of killing the notch that are much simpler. This includes under-display cameras that disappear when not in use.

For example, the ZTE Axon 20 5G has already been announced, and it's fix to launch December 21. The 6.9-inch Android phone likely won't be available in the U.Due south, but information technology's expected to come up to the U.K., EU, Japan, and other regions.

The Samsung Galaxy S21 was rumored to get a under-display photographic camera, but since then the leaks have pointed to the same-old punch pigsty design.

Notwithstanding, nether-display cameras seem like a foregone conclusion every bit opposed to truthful innovation. And even if Oppo can't pull this modular concept off in a phone, information technology would exist heady to encounter at to the lowest degree ane company try.

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Freelance contributor Alan has been writing almost tech for over a decade, roofing phones, drones and everything in between. Previously Deputy Editor of tech site Alphr, his words are found all over the spider web and in the occasional magazine besides. When not weighing upwards the pros and cons of the latest smartwatch, you'll probably find him tackling his ever-growing games backlog. Or, more probable, playing Spelunky for the millionth time.