According to foreign media reports, at the end of 2019, Xiaomi applied for a design patent to the State Intellectual Property Office. The patent document was approved and released on September 8, 2020, and included 16 color renderings. Figure and brief description. Among them, the highlight of the patent is the integration of two tilting pop-up cameras on the front and back of the device.
Xiaomi’s patented smartphone has a flat display with a full-screen design and very narrow bezels. At first glance, there are no cameras on the front or back of the phone, but patent documents show that it integrates dual cameras on the top of the device and appears in a pop-up manner.
A special feature of this camera system is that two cameras are located on the front and back of the phone, so it has a total of four cameras, two of which are used as selfie cameras and the other two cameras It is used as a rear camera.
On the back of the phone, the flash is at the top and right between the two cameras when they pop up. In addition to the flash, the entire back also adopts a fashionable design and has a certain curvature, which is more convenient for the user to hold.
The physical buttons of this Xiaomi phone are concentrated on the right side of the frame, most likely the volume buttons and the power button. At the bottom is the USB-C interface, which also integrates dual speakers, and the microphone is located on the right side of the pop-up camera system.
At present, it is not known whether Xiaomi will mass-produce this device. The camera system also looks more fragile than many pop-up cameras, mainly because it's two narrow pop-ups that pop out of the body at an angle. In addition, each pop-up system must also integrate two front and rear cameras, which is technically very difficult.
We can also see from this design patent that in recent years, mobile phone manufacturers have made many attempts on front cameras in order to present a complete screen to users. Pop-up cameras are undoubtedly one of them, but this solution is still not the optimal solution because it will increase the thickness and weight of the phone, and Xiaomi’s dual pop-up camera design patent is more gimmick than practical. At present, under-screen camera technology is undoubtedly the best solution for realizing a true full-screen mobile phone. However, although there are already mass-produced mobile phones, there are still some display problems, and it is still some time before maturity.