OnePlus Concept One phone has a 'disappearing' camera
Phones
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Now you don't see it, and now you do.
Chinese phone maker OnePlus usually keeps a quiet presence at CES, but at this year's tech trade show it announced its first ever concept phone, the OnePlus Concept One The phone features a special glass that uses an electric current to tint the lens of the rear cameras.
When the cameras are not in use the glass is opaque and black.
When it's time to take a photo, the glass turns transparent and the cameras are visible.
In addition to aesthetics, the feature will also create a neutral density filter for the camera.
Which can be controlled to tweak exposure.
The idea is nifty enough especially as a camera filter, and it works very quickly.
It takes less than a second.
But a close it's a little bit underwhelming, especially since personally I never had an issue with seeing my camera lenses.
I know Apple and Google did get some flat glass here when it showed off their huge camera bumps, but that was mostly about the thickness and the size of the camera bumps rather than the visibility of the lens themselves.
Second, Oneplus emphasize how this feature embodies beauty in the unseen, and if this phone was all black it would make it slicker.
But the company showed off the device with a gaudy McLaren design.
All this leather and orange and stitching and extra lines aren't exactly minimalistic.
It actually kind of reminds me of those ridiculous Vertu phones that cost 10k.
And since this phone will no doubt be more expensive given all the R&D and materials that went into it It's a wonder who this phone is exactly for other than rich, die hard McLaren plans.
One Plus worked on this for 18 months and got this idea while partnering with the supercar company when they released limited edition phones.
You can see this kind of opaque transforming glass in the sun roofs and windows of luxury cars, but I've also seen this technology in office windows and fancy club bathroom mirrors.
One Plus explored the idea of hiding cameras last year with its One Plus 7 Pro.
That phone had a pop-up front facing camera so its display wasn't interrupted with a notch or a tab.
One Plus used last year's [UNKNOWN] Pro phone to demonstrate Demonstrate the concept, and the company didn't announce any availability details for the new phone itself.
The new design isn't as ambitious or far-reaching as concept phones go, but it does mark OnePlus's first CES announcement.
And it gives users a small glimpse of where it's going in the future.
For me CES 2020 coverage, check out cnet.com and remember to like and subscribe to our channel.
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