Samsung Rumored to Target 2020 Launch for Under Display Camera

Samsung reportedly working on under-display camera for 2020 smartphone

By Aaron Mamiit October 19, 2019

Samsung is reportedly targeting a 2020 release for under-display camera technology, which will further “clean up” the front of smartphones, leaving only the screen.

The first smartphone with an under-display camera will launch next year, according to Korean website The Elec. The report follows what Yang Byung-duk, vice president of Samsung’s mobile communication R&D group, said in a briefing in March, where he disclosed that the company is working on making the camera hole invisible, with the goal of finally creating a full-screen smartphone.

The under-display camera will be a progression from the punch hole cutouts for the cameras of the Galaxy S10 and Galaxy Note 10. Samsung used a machine called the Hole in Active Area, or HiAA1, for manufacturing the displays of this year’s flagship smartphones. The company has reportedly received the first HiAA2 equipment that will be used to make the under-display cameras that will launch next year.

The first Samsung smartphone that will feature an under-display camera has been the subject of debate. The Elec claimed that the technology will launch on the Galaxy Fold 2, which will make an already complicated smartphone even more difficult to make. Samsung will need to figure out issues such as distortions and light bleeding, which may be caused by the foldable screen. Adding the new camera technology to the next Samsung foldable smartphone will also likely further drive up the device’s price.

Reliable Samsung insider Ice Universe disagreed that the under-display camera will roll out on the Galaxy Fold 2.

Samsung will launch an under display camera phone next year！
not S11, not Fold 2

— Ice universe (@UniverseIce) October 17, 2019

The leaker claims that the under-display camera will not be on the Galaxy Fold 2 nor the Galaxy S11. Interestingly, he did not mention the Galaxy Note 11, so there is the possibility that the technology will debut on the device. There is also the chance that it will roll out on an A-series smartphone, as Samsung has a history of testing out new features in non-flagship devices before bringing them to its flagship lines.

Samsung is not the only smartphone manufacturer working on an under-display camera though, as Oppo and Xiaomi are also developing their own versions of the technology. Samsung fans, meanwhile, are hoping that the feature will indeed roll out next year.

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