While iPhone fans are looking forward to a smaller notch in the iPhone 13, on the Android side, this could be the year the front-facing camera disappears entirely.
The bad news is that, according to a new leak from a blog post on South Korean site Naver, the production yield on the under-display cameras (UDCs) is too low at present to be used on a phone as popular as the Galaxy S22, however, there's good news for fans of foldables (via TechRadar).
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While previous rumors suggested the Galaxy S22 series would be the first flagship phones to feature UDCs, it isn't shocking to hear that the new tech isn't quite ready to be produced at that kind of volume. The unnamed source suggested that the UDCs would be ready for more primetime placement by the second half of 2022, setting up a possible introduction in a Galaxy Note (if it isn't really dead) or the Galaxy S23.
Fortunately, all UDC hope for 2021 is not lost as the same source indicated that it will still be coming to the Galaxy Z Fold 3, which doesn't see near the production levels of the Galaxy S Series. A recent tweet from leaker @UniverseIce is thought to refer to the Galaxy Z Fold 3's UDC and indicates that there is a slight mosaic pattern visible where the camera is located, but until we've seen real-world samples it's hard to judge.
Although the light transmittance is high, which is close to the experience of ordinary cameras, its UPC appearance is not perfect.It looks like mosaic.You should know which phone I'm talking about.June 6, 2021
Given the audience for the Galaxy Z Fold 3 being bleeding-edge tech fans, this is likely to be more accepted than it would be by general consumers. Moreover, with the recent rumor that the Galaxy Z Fold 3 could see a substantial price drop from its predecessor along with some substantial upgrades to durability and perhaps even S Pen support, this shouldn't be a serious concern.
While we have mostly adjusted to the hole-punch cameras at this point, I'm sure no one is going to miss them either so bring on the UDCs and here's hoping the tech evolves quickly.
