The world’s smartphone manufacturers have not, as of yet, brought a phone to market that includes an under-the-display camera. Samsung announced a couple of years ago that it was working on sensors that did just that, but none have seen the light of day yet.

But now, one Chinese display manufacturer is developing the first one.

According to OLED-Info, the Chinese OLED producer Visionox has indeed launched an under-the-OLED camera technology that it calls InV See.

How does it work? According to the report, the new technology “utilizes a transparent section in the OLED display that allows a camera to be placed behind it.” The technology appears to be based on “two OLED screens seamlessly tiled together.” A leaker known as Ice Universe released a video describing how it works.

Android Authority describes such a camera as the “holy grail” of smartphone design, since it would not require a notch, pop-up camera or other recent innovations for including a camera on such a screen. Notches have been the rule, for many phones, ever since Apple debuted theirs with the iPhone X back in 2017.

It’s not clear what hardware partners, if any, Visionox is working with on the technology, or when we might see it deployed. Talk Android predicted that Oppo or Vivo, two Chinese manufacturers, will come out with it first.

While the company is relatively obscure, Visionox’s website describes it as “the world’s leading supplier of integrated advanced display solutions.” Founded in 2001, the company touts that it’s “pushing boundaries to enhance the experience of vision” while “leading China’s OLED industry through technological innovation.” 

Visionox competes with better known companies like Samsung and LG on OLED panels.

A Gizmo China story last September described Visionox as “Chinese smartphone makers’ new favorite for developing experimental displays,” noting that the company had worked with Xiaomi on that company’s s Mi Mix Alpha concept that had debuted that month. The story added that Visionox will also be supplying panels for the controversial Chinese firm Huawei.

Stephen Silver, a technology writer for The National Interest, is a journalist, essayist and film critic, who is also a contributor to Philly Voice, Philadelphia Weekly, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Living Life Fearless, Backstage magazine, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. Follow him on Twitter at @StephenSilver.

Image: Reuters