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Pop-Up Cameras Could Soon Be a Mobile Trend (techcrunch.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: There's an interesting concept making its way around Mobile World Congress. Two gadgets offer cameras hidden until activated, which offer a fresh take on design and additional privacy. Vivo built a camera into a smartphone concept that's on a little sliding tray and Huawei will soon offer a MacBook Pro clone that features a camera hidden under a door above the keyboard. This could be a glimpse of the future of mobile design. Cameras have long been embedded in laptops and smartphones much to the chagrin of privacy experts. Some users cover up these cameras with tape or slim gadgets to ensure nefarious players do not remotely activate the cameras. Others, like HP, have started to build in shutters to give the user more control. Both DIY and built-in options require substantial screen bezels, which the industry is quickly racing to eliminate.
With shrinking bezels, gadget makers have to look for new solutions like the iPhone X notch. Others still, like Vivo and Huawei, are look at more elegant solutions than carving out a bit of the screen. For Huawei, this means using a false key within the keyboard to house a hidden camera. Press the key and it pops up like a trapdoor. We tried it out and though the housing is clever, the placement makes for awkward photos -- just make sure you trim those nose hairs before starting your conference call. Vivo has a similar take to Huawei though the camera is embedded on a sliding tray that pops-up out of the top of the phone.
With shrinking bezels, gadget makers have to look for new solutions like the iPhone X notch. Others still, like Vivo and Huawei, are look at more elegant solutions than carving out a bit of the screen. For Huawei, this means using a false key within the keyboard to house a hidden camera. Press the key and it pops up like a trapdoor. We tried it out and though the housing is clever, the placement makes for awkward photos -- just make sure you trim those nose hairs before starting your conference call. Vivo has a similar take to Huawei though the camera is embedded on a sliding tray that pops-up out of the top of the phone.
I'm all for privacy, but this just sounds like another thing that could break on my phone.
One of the biggest complaint about the Dell XPS 13 laptop is the camera is at the bottom of the bezel instead of the top (where it is on most laptops). This results in a camera taking photos at less than flattering angles, notably, your nostrils.
This camera, being hidden in the keyboard, has the same issue - it points upwards from the computer, leading to everyone seeing your face and being distracted by your nostrils.
Hope you trimmed your nose hairs, because that's all anyone you're going to be chatting to will be seeing.
I'd settle for a hardwired red LED whenever the camera was active. It needs to be truly hardware connected and not software bypass-able. I believe we all deserve to know when any camera is active, so I'd rather it not be bypass-able without a soldering iron.