Introducing the Concept One Phone’s Disappearing Camera by OnePlus: Here is how it works

OnePlus has officially launched its Concept One phone at the 2020 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The announcement of the phone with a hidden or disappearing camera came on the heels of a teaser video posted on Twitter by the manufacturer.

The device, which has been designed in partnership with McLaren, is the first smartphone to have an electrochromic glass panel with ‘invisible’ cameras. This switches between transparent and opaque to reveal the rear camera or hide it. According to OnePlus, the change from solid black to fully clear takes place in with just 0.7 seconds – quicker than the camera itself takes to activate.

The inspiration for this design came from McLaren’s 720S Spider sports car, featuring a retractable hard-top that has the same type of electrochromic material that can switch between tinted and transparent states.

The Concept One phone also comes with a rear leather panel, which is in McLaren’s signature Papaya Orange shade. The manufacturer, OnePlus, has yet to reveal any details concerning the phone specs, including when or if it will release the handset anytime soon.

OnePlus Concept One Phone Video

What’s used on the device, the Chinese brand claims, is the world’s most advanced electrochromic glass ever designed. Two (2) glass panels are crammed in the organic material between them, each measuring only 0.1 millimeters and having a combined thickness of only 0.35 millimeters.

The phone maker also claims the glass panel makes use of “almost” zero power for its operation. The smartphone frame is designed with an aluminium alloy, which is treated with a new vapor deposition process, allowing the thin gold finish layer to be precisely deposited and creating what OnePlus describes as a “subtle shine”.

Shedding light on the Concept One design, CEO and Founder of OnePlus, Pete Lau, explained: “This concept phone is a significant experiment into the future form of smartphones. OnePlus started this initiative with the goal of bringing the “burdenless” user experience to the next level. The invisible camera stands as a new form of camera design, one that spares the user from the compromises of current camera layouts.”

Apart from this, the China-based phone company is also very enthused about flaunting its research and development (R&D) efforts, asserting that this now contributes to more than 70% of its staff. Along with the center launched recently in Hyderabad, India, that already has more than 200 people developing 5G software, OnePlus has seven R&D centers in different locations around the world.

Reference

1. Twitter. Source.

Tijani Mustapha

Deji is a web content developer and tech writer, who is passionate about tech-related topics and issues. A graduate of Physics from the University of Ibadan, he loves writing, conducting research, playing football, and meeting people of diverse backgrounds and interests.