Since last year, one of the great challenges for many manufacturers is to make the most of the front of their devices. Hence, different brands work on technologies that allow elements such as the camera to be placed under the screen. Samsung already has its first camera equipment ready under the screen and it is not a smartphone.
Samsung’s laptop with a webcam under the screen
Along with other aspects that logically will continue to be very important in the development of any product, such as autonomy, power, connectivity, etc., one of the great challenges that many brands face is related to screens and their use.
During 2020 we already saw that several manufacturers had taken steps in search of a solution that would allow to integrate different elements under the screen . The first and most “simple” was the fingerprint sensor, although now that certain features are being sought in the current panels, they are being taken to other locations such as the back of the device or even to the side.
This as long as you do not choose to eliminate it directly and use facial recognition as the only or main method of biometric security. Something that, for example, Apple does with Face ID on their phones or iPad Pro. Although not all components are equally easy to integrate.
The front camera in mobile phones or the webcam in computers are examples of these components that require special technology so that we do not fall into the solution of the hole in the screen. That even being smaller in dimensions than the different notchs that we can see, it is just as little aesthetic.
However, it seems that Samsung already has everything ready with its first equipment with an under-screen camera and they are neither the new Samsung Galaxy S21 nor another mobile. The first device from the manufacturer to integrate this technology is the Samsung Blade Bezel, a laptop with an OLED screen whose webcam is integrated under the panel .
Thanks to this, the brand can achieve a performance that goes from 85% to 93%. A not inconsiderable percentage that also rounds out the product in terms of design and makes it much more attractive in all aspects.
Aesthetic improvement, but is it really interesting?
The only problem or doubt that this new technology will begin to generate is, is it really necessary or interesting for all types of devices with a screen? We propose this because in recent months it is also true that more and more users end up covering the webcam of their computers for fear of an attack on their privacy.
If the webcam is under the screen, covering it would mean losing a space that, no matter how small, could always contain the information that we would need to see or that button or control of the interface of an app in order to interact with it.
So, it is true that it seems contradictory that after a long time asking for more used frontals, now it does not convince at all to have the camera under the panel. Or at least that is what some users transmit. Besides the possible additional cost that could suppose to have a solution of this type or the “loss” of quality to have an extra element between the lens and the sensor of the camera.
It will be necessary to see how the subject advances, to what extent users accept having a camera that will now be more difficult or less convenient to cover if you want to “ensure” a little more your privacy. And that as long as everything is on mobile and portable devices. Can you imagine a Smart TV with a webcam of this type that could be watching all the time? Well, we will not be so conspiranoid, but we will have to assess to what extent these advances are really interesting. Something similar to what happens with the obsession of wanting to lose weight as much as possible, still affecting the battery and autonomy.