OPPO’s Wizardry In Creating An All-Display Phone

Manufacturers have been chasing the dream of making a “full screen” phone. By definition, such a device wouldn’t need a cutout or teardrop for its selfie camera. Instead, it would be hidden underneath the screen. Admittedly, the technology is still in its infancy so in the past few years phone makers resorted to fancy in-body pop-up mechanisms to house said sensors.

As impressive as they might be, these mechanical movements introduce obvious points of failure that are difficult to remedy. But cameras placed under the screen and are still good at taking pictures were considered the holy grail of the smartphone world – until now. OPPO’s first stab at the technology appears to be a feasible solution.

The company employs several new innovations including AI algorithms to allow the system to work effectively. Since the display lies over the camera sensor, pictures that are captured may seem blurry and overexposed. Besides this the screen area above the camera needs to be transparent enough that the sensor can successfully “peer through” without much disturbance.

For that, OPPO developed a series of imaging AI algorithms including diffraction reduction, HDR and AWB. This is said to reduce some negative side effects of under-screen cameras, such as the aforementioned blurry images and image glare. An AI diffraction reduction model trained with tens of thousands of images helps reduce quality issues caused by the display.

Besides this, the screen’s transparency also affects overall display quality. The following are what OPPO used to circumvent the problem:

Innovative pixel geometry: shrinks the size of each pixel without decreasing the number of pixels to ensure a 400-PPI high-quality display even in the camera area.

Transparent wiring and new design: Replace traditional screen wiring with transparent wiring material. They also reduced the width of the wiring by 50%, which makes for finer display quality with a smoother visual experience.

Improved Screen Accuracy: Instead of using 1 pixel circuit to drive 2 pixels in the screen area directly above the camera, OPPO uses one pixel circuit to drive each pixel. The company says combining this with its algorithmic compensation technology allows accurate control of the display’s chromaticity and brightness.

OPPO’s all-screen phone is still in the prototype phase but we should see the technology reach maturity in the near future. People like me who feel troubled by the presence of a hole punch or teardrop shaped obstruction, are eagerly awaiting the release of such a phone. Here’s to hoping more phone makers pursue the technology and rid us OCD sufferers of this injustice.