A few days ago, we saw a Vivo patent a rather unique smartphone design. It involved four front-facing cameras in a rather unorthodox orientation. Not wanting to stay behind its compatriot and rival, Oppo has now patented (via Tigermobiles) an even more absurd camera style —one that pops out of the side. Here's how it looks.
The motorized camera module on the right-hand side of the phone, and not on the top. The primary camera modules are right below the pop-up mechanism along with the LED flash. The primary camera likely consists of no more than two sensors, based on the writing on the module.
Now you must be wondering, just what purpose does such a camera orientation serve? Your guess is good as mine because I can't think of a single reason why this would be practical. Then again, BBK international has never shied away from outrageous design choices, so I'm sure they must have some reason. Perhaps this is to simplify the manufacturing process of the camera module, which can now be made as one single unit.
Practically speaking, a selfie camera that is mounted sideways makes little sense. Yes, it'll assist in capturing selfies in Landscape mode, but is that a feature someone really wants? Maybe this is just Oppo's way of pushing the envelope of smartphone design experimentation. We don't get to see a lot of that now, and while we're glad that BBK is bold enough to try things out, we'd appreciate it if things were more on the practical side.
Other than the odd camera placement, everything else about the device seems fairly normal. There's a USB Type C port at the bottom along with a headphone jack and speakers. Looking at the patent listing alone, it is hard to tell anything more about the device. This device might not even see the light of day. Patent applications are merely glorified placeholders for projects that may or may not see fruition.
About the author: Anil has been a lifelong tech enthusiast and has worked a variety of jobs before joining the Wccftech team in 2018. His primary responsibilities include reporting on all things in the Android and mobile gaming sphere. He is also passionate about PC hardware, obscure music and internet culture. He also has a thing for addressing himself in third person as an exercise in self-awareness.
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