There are hardware manufacturers whose presentations are always expected with great anticipation. In the smartphone sector, these include not only the large companies Apple, Huawei and Samsung. OnePlus is also increasingly becoming a serious competitor. This is not least due to the revolutionary features and innovations with which the smartphones of the Chinese manufacturer can surprise year after year. At this year’s CES in Las Vegas, OnePlus impressed the audience with a smartphone whose camera is virtually invisible.
Now not a foldable smartphone from OnePlus?
Of course, there is always speculation in the run-up to a major presentation. Industry experts at OnePlus have speculated that a foldable smartphone will be presented. While Samsung and other manufacturers believe in this trend, OnePlus has decided against it. Instead, the smartphone expert presented a concept device that offers innovation in a completely different way.
A hidden camera
If you take a first look at the Concept One from OnePlus, it looks very familiar. The exterior is clearly oriented towards the OnePlus 7T Pro. This is due not least to the McLaren design and the striking orange. With the technical details there are no big surprises at first. But the devil is in the details. OnePlus has installed an innovative camera in its Concept One.
The novel camera only appears when the user actually uses it. When the camera is just switched off, it simply disappears behind glass and cannot be seen. This is the Chinese manufacturer’s response to the growing trend of having more and more camera lenses on the back of today’s smartphones.
Special glass makes it possible
But how does OnePlus achieve the hiding game of its camera on Concept One? In order for the camera to hide, the manufacturers use a very special glass. This is already used in aviation, more precisely by Boeing. While Boeing uses the color-changing, electrochromic glass to darken its aircraft windows, OnePlus uses it to hide its camera. If the camera is not used, the glass darkens immediately.
Great photos despite darkening
According to OnePlus, camera enthusiasts need not fear any restrictions despite the special glass. Because the glass discolours again in a fraction of a second when the camera starts, the lenses have a clear view at the right moment. This technology sounds extremely exciting, but OnePlus has not yet made any statements regarding its marketability. It can be assumed that it will be a while before the camera technology of the Concept One is installed in a serial device.
OnePlus takes a step back from the foldable Smartphone
Samsung still thinks back with horror to the release of his “Samsung Galaxy Folds” in 2019. After all, the devices not only gave their owners cause for concern, but also caused an economic blow to the Korean smartphone giant. Huawei and Motorola also dared to enter the market with their counterparts. Whether these foldable smartphones will have a future, however, must be viewed with extreme skepticism.
OnePlus does not seem to dare to take the step into the foldables. This would also be more than daring. After all, the Chinese company is still a newcomer in the smartphone business. Even a misguided development could put the young company in an economic predicament that could threaten its very existence. Instead, OnePlus, with its hidden camera in Concept One, is putting a sensible idea into practice. Although they risked something here too, they simply owed it to their “fans”. After all, OnePlus recently celebrated its sixth anniversary.
