Chinese brands working on phones with invisible selfie cameras

Chinese smartphone manufacturers are developing a new type of device that could transform the way users snap selfies and unlock their phones.

According to the rumours beginning to emerge, companies are testing smartphones that feature both under-display selfie cameras and 3D face recognition, two advanced technologies never used together in a single consumer device.

While Apple’s iPhones have used 3D face unlock (Face ID) for quite a while now, Android brands have not fully realised this biometric level of security. 

Therefore, so far, most Android phones have used fingerprint sensors or less secure 2D face unlock. Moreover, Chinese brands, like Honor and ZTE have been working on next-gen tech.

For example, Honor's brand-new Magic 7 Pro has 3D facial recognition, while ZTE's nubia Z70S Ultra has an under-display front camera that conceals the camera under the display; therefore, the camera is entirely invisible. No phone has yet offered both technologies together in a single device.

Tipster Digital Chat Station reported the internal testing began in January for phones that will look to merge the under-display selfie camera with the 3D face unlocking tech, thus allowing the use of secure 3D face unlocking without the need for a visible camera cutout, like a notch or hole-punch, for a more seamless front display.