Vivo Superzoom Pop-up Camera
According to the Letsgodigital, a Vivo patent titled “Camera Module, Electronic Device and Camera Module Control Method” was published, and the designers at LetsgoDigital created a rendering of the product for the patent that is, well, kinda extraordinary.
The Vivo superzoom pop-up camera system has four expandable modules, similar to a trapezoidal structure, with an additional lens popping up each time. The lower lens will always be available, and users can further expand the lens as needed to achieve a larger zoom range.
Earlier this year, Vivo Mobile Communications filed a patent with the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO) for a “camera module, electronic device, and method of controlling a camera module”. The 23-page document, issued on July 29, 2021, describes a Vivo smartphone with a superzoom pop-up camera.
The document states that current smartphones only support “low zoom functionality” and that the new Vivo patent enables “high zoom functionality”. In other words, with its patented camera system, Vivo wants to make it possible for phones to have a larger zoom range. Vivo already has some smartphones with great zoom cameras, for example, the Vivo X30 Pro has two telephoto lenses with 5x and 2x zooms.
To get a better idea of Vivo’s patented super zoom camera technology, graphic designer Technizo Concept has created a series of product renders based on the patents filed by Vivo. The phone has a pop-up camera system, but instead of the camera facing forward, it’s facing backward. That is, the rear camera is incorporated into the pop-up system, while the front camera is placed below the screen.
The pop-up camera system has four expandable modules, similar to a trapezoid structure, with an additional lens sliding out one at a time. The lower lens will always be available and the user can further expand the lens as needed. The lenses can partially overlap each other to achieve a larger zoom range. Unfortunately, the data for the optical zoom is not stated in the documentation. However, this should be much higher than the current smartphones with periscopic zoom cameras.
It is still unclear where the flash will be integrated. In the Technizo concept design, however, a sleek flash ring is placed around the lower camera lens, maintaining the integrity of the symmetrical design. Many believe that an under-screen camera will automatically mean the end of pop-up cameras as well, but with this patent, Vivo is showing that pop-up cameras can also be used to replace the rear camera.
