Many have wondered why the under-screen camera on the iPhone Duo‘s inner display is not in the top-right corner. Now, Chinese leaker Instant Digital has provided an explanation.
The leaker said in a Weibo post from earlier this morning:
“The under-display camera on the iPhone Duo’s inner screen wasn’t placed in the top right corner due to engineering difficulties; the next generation should move it to the top right corner to perfectly align with the outer screen.”
Apple must have some uber-thin cameras in the works, as sticking the opposing cameras straight across from each other sounds like a real challenge if you’re looking to preserve the iPhone Duo’s thinness.
While we’re talking about the iPhone Duo’s under-screen camera, it has basically been the holy grail for phone manufactuerers, with several Android phone makers attempting to pull it off, but a truly usable, quality shooter under glass has always seemed to be just slightly out of the reach of engineers.
As reported by MakeUseOf, ZTE took the first shot at it with the Axon 20 5G back in 2020, its successor, the ZTE Axon 30, hid things a bit better, and Xiami and Samsung took their swing at the plate in 2021 with the Mix 4 and Galaxy Z Fold 3, respectively.
Under-screen camera technology hides the camera lens behind a number of pixels while still letting light through when the camera is needed. However, in the Android phones the publication tested, the pixels had a tendency to block and scatter some of the incoming light before it reached the camera sensor, resulting in a soft haze effect and weaker low-light shots. When manufacturers tried reducing the pixel density above the lens to help the camera see, but that would leave a faint, lower-resolution patch on the display.
The iPhone Duo is just another case of Apple waiting to offer technology until it is proven or until they are able to do it better. For example, Android devices tried fingerprint readers in 2011 with mixed results, and Apple waited two years before introducing Touch ID on the iPhone 5s.