Onlookers under the Essential Phone screen camera patent: or will end Liu Haiping

As a leading figure in the mobile phone industry, Apple has always set trends whenever it releases new products. The iPhone X was no exception — its unique design, known as the "Liu Haiping" or "notch," sparked widespread imitation across the industry. Major Android manufacturers quickly followed suit. However, what many people might not know is that the concept of the notch wasn't actually first introduced by Apple. Instead, it originated from the Essential Phone PH-1, developed by Andy Rubin, the founder of Android.

In a way, Essential Phone can be considered the pioneer of the notch design. But looking ahead, it might also be the one to end the era of the notch screen.

According to IT Home, in February last year, Essential Phone filed a patent for an under-screen camera design (see image below). This innovation could potentially revolutionize smartphone displays and eliminate the need for a notch altogether.

The idea isn’t complicated. LCD screens are made with almost transparent materials. If the camera is placed beneath a "nearly transparent" section of the screen, and that area is turned off when taking a photo, the screen and camera can essentially be integrated seamlessly.

It sounds simple, so why didn’t anyone think of this before?

Currently, there are two main ways to implement this concept. One is to make the screen partially transparent, while the other involves using software to correct the color emitted by the LCD’s color filter layer during photography.

Although the notch screen remains popular, some manufacturers are exploring alternative solutions for front-facing cameras. For example, Xiaomi's Mix 2 places the front camera at the bottom of the device, and Vivo introduced a retractable camera in the APEX. Interestingly, Essential Phone also had a similar patent in the past.

Compared to these approaches, if Essential Phone manages to bring this under-screen camera technology to life, it would be one of the most innovative and visually appealing solutions in the industry.