A rotating, under-screen selfie camera? Xiaomi solves it!

We're no longer surprised when Xiaomi comes up with something wacky, because it can and does. Xiaomi has already demonstrated and are ready to launch.

Xiaomi filed another patent with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) last week. LetsgoDigital has also been struck to give us a visual demonstration of the new solutions. From the pictures, it looks like one of the main rear cameras will be turned into a selfie camera.

This is not the first patent the company has worked on, although it has not yet been seen in any of the phones on the market. The 32-page document, filed on 29 April, describes it as a third-generation camera. Called a flip camera, it uses a magnetic device to flip the housing so that one of the lenses in the rear, triple camera module flips over towards the screen. The documentation also mentions a motorised solution, but more than likely they'll stick with the magnet, at least it's not a moving part. Moving parts, as we all know, wear out and break, while the magnet, is almost eternal.

When you flip the selfie camera under the screen, the part of the display in front of the camera is deactivated and made transparent. This is now a solved technique, where the display lets enough light through the panel to take excellent selfie pictures. However, the user doesn't notice any of this, although when taking a selfie, no one would be bothered by a small speck in the corner. At least he knows where to look and isn't staring at himself on the screen...

The patent also mentions a laser autofocus, which we saw in the Xiaomi Mi 9 phone. The idea is that it can take a perfectly sharp picture in low light. Moreover, the technology can be installed under any screen, whether LCD or AMOLED.