s A rotating, pop-up smartphone camera might look like

that of Samsung

unusual patent

for a rotating smartphone pop-up camera was recently published by the World Intellectual Property Office and the details look intriguing.

LetsGoDigital

took a look at the app and laughed at what it might look like.

The idea behind this design is to ensure that the main camera array, which is normally pointed in the opposite direction of the screen, can be used as a selfie camera. This change would have two benefits: firstly, it would ensure that the usually much better rear cameras could be used in either direction, eliminating the need for the normally much worse selfie camera. we see today.

There are companies currently testing ways to hide this camera behind the screen, but so far the results haven't been great.

If the goal is to give customers a completely clean, bezel-free screen without compromising the image quality of the selfie camera, then this is actually a pretty good idea.

According to the patent, the pop-up camera system would operate automatically, based on input to the camera app. Inside the phone is a motor connected to the battery. Two gears and a long propeller shaft are connected to a retractable mechanism that rotates the movable integrated frame. A flexible printed circuit board is stored in this frame, which moves when the camera system is deployed.

"This frame is located directly below the pop-up camera system",

LetsGoDigital

explains. "When the camera is raised, an opening is created in the back, which is covered by the frame. Samsung can optionally design it so that you can see the flexible circuit board there, as described in the complete documentation .

LetsGoDigital

simulated this blueprint which shows what the engine looks like and how it would work.

To get a better idea of how a finished phone will look,

LetsGoDigital

worked with Jermaine Smit, also known as

Concept creator

, who made a series of graphics showing a finished product. Although in his designs only the top camera is revealed, the patent actually explains that more of the camera module can be raised to allow the use of additional focal lengths.

This isn't the first time we've seen a company dabble in the idea of a pop-up camera. Oppo, Vivo, Honor, and even Motorola have all tried the design, but there are usually too many downsides. associates who led these first users

give up the idea

And for good reason.

Samsung's patent appears to take the idea of a pop-up camera and take it to an extreme. One of the main reasons companies stopped developing the pop-up camera was that adding moving parts added more possible points of failure. Samsung, undeterred, not only has the part that moves the smartphone camera array up and down, but also another unit that rotates the camera 180 degrees. Another reason why the design has been largely abandoned is that it adds another area that would need to be waterproofed, which is not only difficult but also expensive. So while there appear to be advantages to the pop-up concept, there are a few very notable downsides that have yet to outweigh the positives.

LetsGoDigital

speculates that this patent would be unlikely to be used in a flagship S-series camera, but more likely in the more affordable A-series. What's just as likely is that Samsung never actually implements this design in a consumer device. As mentioned, there are simply too many downsides with so many moving parts in a smartphone. In short, there are too many risks.

Still, it's a neat idea that shows smartphone companies aren't happy with the status quo. It's only a matter of time before someone finds a way to improve the optics of the front cameras. and give consumers a beautiful, uninterrupted edge-to-edge display.

(Going through

LetsGoDigital

Going through

Tom's Guide

)

Image credits:

s A rotating, pop-up smartphone camera might look like

Models and plans

by LetsGoDigital

, and used under

posting guidelines

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