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OPPO may be preparing a smartphone with a tiny secondary display on the back. A patent document spotted at CNIPA (Chinese National Intellectual Property Administration) shows a new OPPO device featuring a circular rear camera module that also houses a tiny circular display.
The unannounced Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra (name not official), which appeared in a hands-on video on YouTube earlier this month, also features a secondary display within the rear camera module. One of the use cases of this unique design, as shown in the video, was that the secondary display would act as a viewfinder so people can take selfies using the rear cameras.
It appears OPPO wants the secondary display on its phone to work in the same way as well. A missing front-facing camera further fuels these speculations. The device sports a full-screen display at the front, without any cutouts or notches for the selfie camera.
Even if the company plans to add a front-facing camera, it may opt for an under-display camera (UDC) camera system. However, since the UDC tech is relatively new and may not produce the best picture quality, having a secondary display at the back would allow users to take selfies using the rear camera system. When they need to make video calls, they still have a front-facing camera.
The images included in the patent document show that the secondary display may also show the date and time. This would be handy when the phone is kept upside down on a table. There’s also a possibility that OPPO would expand the use cases of the secondary display to show other information like quick notifications and weather as well.
OPPO patents a smartphone design with a secondary display at the back
Apart from the secondary display at the back, everything else about this phone is fairly standard. The main display is curved on both sides while the bezels at the top and the bottom are negligible. The volume rockers are on the left side while the power button is on the right. There’s a USB Type-C port, a speaker grille, and a SIM tray at the bottom.
The circular rear camera module houses three cameras and an LED flash, along with the secondary display. However, since this is a design patent, there’s no mention of the specs of the phone or the secondary display.
As is the case with every smartphone patent ever, there’s no confirmation whether OPPO is already working on such a product or just trying to secure a design for the future. The Chinese phone maker had filed this patent in May last year. CNIPA approved and published the documents last week.
