There is an interesting concept that is making its way around the Mobile World Congress. Two gadgets offer hidden cameras until they are activated, which offers a new design and extra privacy. Vivo has integrated a camera into a smartphone concept on a small sliding tray and Huawei will soon be offering a MacBook Pro clone with a hidden camera under a door above the keyboard.
This could give a glimpse of the future of mobile design.
Cameras have long been embedded in laptops and smartphones much to the detriment of privacy experts. Some users hide these devices with tape or thin gadgets to make sure that malicious players do not operate the cameras remotely. Others, like HP, have started building shutters to give more control to the user. Both DIY and integrated options require large screen screens, which the industry is quickly packing to eliminate them.
With the glasses shrinking, gadget makers need to look for new solutions like the iPhone X notch. Still others, like Vivo and Huawei, are looking at more stylish solutions than cutting out a bit of l & # 39; screen.
For Huawei, this means using a false key in the keyboard to house a hidden camera. Press the key and it appears as a hatch. We've tried it and although the case is clever, the placement makes awkward photos – just make sure you cut those hairs before you start your conference call.
Vivo has a similar socket to Huawei if the camera is integrated on a sliding tray that appears on the top of the phone. That's in response to what Chris Velazco calls Engadget, "as close to a full-screen phone as I've seen."
At this point, these two options are dumb alternatives to proven solutions, but show an attempt to evolve the standard design. Being mobile devices, both options are more likely to break or fail. Still, for my part, I hope this design is iterated on and will usher in a new era of gadget design to get us out of boring age slate designs.