Samsung Has Reportedly Patented a New Under-Display Camera Technology

The new Samsung patent reportedly addresses the issue of reduced image quality of current under-display cameras.

Written by Akash Dutta, Edited by Siddharth Suvarna | Updated: 8 August 2024 18:44 IST

Samsung Has Reportedly Patented a New Under-Display Camera Technology

With the new under-display camera, Samsung will reportedly use fewer pixels on top of the sensor

Highlights

The patent is said to claim the technology will improve user experience
Samsung might use the optical sensor in foldable and rollable phones
A new DDI chipset will reportedly enhance the brightness of the images

Samsung has reportedly patented a new technology for the under-display camera (UDC) which will improve the image quality compared to its existing optical sensors on the Galaxy Z series smartphones. As per the report, the new UDC addresses issues around image resolution and user experience. The camera will reportedly be added to the South Korean tech giant's bar phones, foldables, and rollable handsets in the future. The optical sensor is said to be accompanied by a new driver-integrated circuit (IC) that will control the display to ensure more light flows into the sensor.

Samsung Reportedly Patents New UDC Technology

The patent was discovered by Teleprompter in collaboration with tipster David from @xleaks7 on X (formerly known as Twitter). As per the report, the patent mentioned an under-display camera that features a display driver IC (DDI) to adjust the output of images by controlling the display right above the sensor.

Samsung patented an optical sensor with an under-display camera

It can be used on foldable and rollable smartphones

More details: https://t.co/RTIxnUcwzP #Samsung #galaxyzfold7 #galaxyzflip7 pic.twitter.com/3j0xg4UJIg
— xleaks7 (David Kowalski) (@xleaks7) August 6, 2024

As per the report, the patent stated that the UDC can be “implemented as an electronic device such as a slidable, rollable, or foldable type electronic device.” The entire tech stack of the innovation is said to include the DDI chip, the new UDC optical sensor, and an OLED display.

The DDI chipset is crucial to the image output, as per the report. It is said to either turn off the pixels in the display around the optical sensor or display a different image to minimise the visual impact. Samsung reportedly said this will improve the user experience as users will not have to worry about the front camera cut-out.

But its role does not end there. With the presence of a UDC, the display area above it will require to have less pixel density so that the sensor can get enough light. The DDI chipset can manage to keep the camera hidden despite this by reportedly brightening the OLED panel or intelligently placing an icon or different element.

Coming to the optical sensor, the report claims that the new UDC will be of higher resolution and feature a larger sensor to ensure the image output is better. Notably, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 uses a 4-megapixel selfie camera on the inner foldable display, which has not been upgraded for several generations.

It is difficult to say if and when the new technology will show up in Samsung smartphones. The acquisition of a patent is not a confirmation of the development of a device.

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Further reading: Samsung, Patents, Mobiles

Akash Dutta Email Akash Dutta

Akash Dutta is a Senior Sub Editor at Gadgets 360. He is particularly interested in the social impact of technological developments and loves reading about emerging fields such as AI, metaverse, and fediverse. In his free time, he can be seen supporting his favourite football club - Chelsea, watching movies and anime, and sharing passionate opinions on food. More