World's first 5G smartphone with under-display front camera to launch in China

We're weeks away from watching ZTE launch what could be the world's first 5G-ready phone with an under-display front camera.

According to their official statement, the Chinese telecommunications brand is ready to launch the ZTE Axon 20 5G in China, starting from 1 September 2020. The brand said that the Axon 20 5G is the world's first "mass-produced 5G smartphone featuring under-display camera", making it a true full-display mobile device.

The announcement was followed up by a Weibo status update from Nei Fei, President of Mobile Devices, ZTE (h/t to Android Authority), where he uploaded a render of the new Axon 20 5G. The render showed absolutely no cut-outs, pinholes, or any dot of any sort for front cameras on the display panel.

We can see why this is a milestone for ZTE, and why they specified that the Axon 20 5G is the first mass-produced 5G phone with an under-display camera. The imaging feature (and the technologies that made it possible) was subjected to a figurative technological arms race.

Visionox was recently tooting their horn about mass-producing displays that supported under-display cameras.

Oppo and Xiaomi also showed off the possibility of including under-display cameras for their phones, but they've yet to bring it to the broader market. Huawei registered patents for this feature, but it remains a mystery if their next Mate flagship devices have it.

We can't wait to see the Axon 20 5G when it's out.

This article was first published in Hardware Zone.