The Axon 20 5G has a hole punch or notch solution for its 32-megapixel selfie camera, and instead hides it underneath its 6.9-inch 90Hz OLED display, which is surrounded by minimal bezels on all four sides.
According to ZTE, the area around the camera looks just as bright and vivid as the rest of the screen. The company says it has achieved this using a high transparency material that features organic and inorganic films.
Putting a camera under the screen makes it harder to match the quality of an unobstructed smartphone camera, so to overcome ZTE has developed software algorithms that address haze, glare, and color cast issues in photos.
The company also referred to “color synchronization” between the camera and the display, which sounds as if it captures images between the screen’s PWM flicker. (PWM flicker is a way of controlling screen brightness by adding some breaks without light emittance.)
The phone also features an under-display fingerprint sensor and an under-screen speaker system. Elsewhere, on the rear, there’s a 64-megapixel camera backed by an 8-megapixel ultrawide lens with 2-megapixel depth and macro sensors.
The phone is based around a Snapdragon 765G processor, which is likely what allows it to be just 7.98mm thick while including 5G connectivity and a 4,220mAh battery. The screen is a 6.92-inch OLED with an in-display fingerprint sensor.
The rear camera array includes a 64-megapixel primary sensor and 8-megapixel ultra-wide with 2-megapixel depth and macro sensors. There are options for 6 or 8GB of RAM and 128GB or 256GB of storage, and there’s a micro-SD card slot.
The Axon 20 5G is available to order in China right now starting at 2,198 yuan (~$320). There’s no word yet on a possible release elsewhere.
The Axon 20 5G was available to order in China from September 10 at a cost of about $320, but it’s unclear if it will become available internationally.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen a Chinese company unveil a solution to the ubiquitous smartphone display notch. Oppo teased its own under-screen camera prototype way back in June 2019, but the technology has yet to appear in a consumer Oppo phone.
