New leaks suggest the OnePlus 7 will get a selfie camera pop-up

When rumors began to indicate that OnePlus wanted a completely no-bezel design on its next major phone, the immediate question became: how would the company do it?

Will the OnePlus 7 have a punching selfie camera like the Galaxy S10? Or would OnePlus opt for a simpler solution, such as the manual slider found on the Mi Mix 3 of Xiaomi?

Although based on new photos of OnePlus 7 revealing a leak, it seems that OnePlus has decided to choose a potentially controversial solution to avoid the notch: a motorized selfie camera. The new photo, which would have been found on Weibo by Slashleaks, seems to confirm the recent renditions of OnePlus 7 published by @OnLeaksand shows a phone with a rectangular selfie camera popping up for what appears to be the process of setting up facial recognition of the device.

The big surprise here is that for a company that has largely avoided the whimsical or superfluous features of previous devices, the OnePlus 7's contextual camera seems like an incredibly strange choice. Although its back has been designed not to interfere with technology, the OnePlus 6T has not been equipped with wireless charging, as its founder, Pete Lau, believes that wireless charging is inferior to Dash technology 20 watt load of the company.

The idea of ​​placing a selfie camera on a phone is also not new: Vivo presented the functionality of its Apex 2018 concept last year to the MWC, before activating it on the Vivo Nex later in the year. 'year. And, judging by the leakage of images, it does not seem that OnePlus has done anything extraordinary to address the great concern that contextual cameras raise: sustainability.

Do not get me wrong, I like a good motorized camera like that of the Oppo Find X. The low mechanical hum that it produces when the camera rises reminiscent of the good days of the time where Michael Bay ruined the Transformers franchise The ability to completely remove the camera looks like some unobtrusive James Bond magic.

However, OnePlus phones have always been designed for simplicity, and a motorized pop-up camera is anything but. This engine is just one last thing that can go wrong, it makes the phone more susceptible to accidental damage, and if the engine breaks down, say goodbye to taking selfies or unlocking the phone with your face.

The other concern about this contextual camera is how it will affect the price of the OnePlus 7. Since its inception, OnePlus has greatly benefited from its ability to provide top-notch specifications for hundreds of less than competing flagship products . But it is hard to imagine that a solution as complicated as that of a motorized contextual camera may be less expensive to integrate into a phone than a simple notch.

But who knows, it's still early and it's possible that these leaks and mistakes are not quite right. But if they are, hopefully the OnePlus 7 will not collapse just because of a ridiculous feature.