In recent years, technology companies have been making bezels (also known as bezels) as thin as possible. This way, a device's screen becomes larger without having to increase the dimensions of the phone. Even the most affordable phones these days have extremely thin bezels. But what about selfie cameras?
Xiaomi was the first to start this trend in 2016 with the Mi Mix , which offered a 91.3% screen-to-body ratio. Xiaomi achieved this by moving the front camera module to the bottom bezels, which made the display larger. Many major companies, including Samsung , Apple , and Google , followed suit .
The reduction in bezels, however, also influenced another major implementation, pop-up selfie cameras. Vivo led this innovation with the NEX model in 2018, and the device showed that it was possible to create displays without any cutouts.
OPPO also created the Find X, which features a motorized module not only for the selfie camera, but also for the rear cameras. These foldable modules became particularly popular in 2019, and as a result, we have a lot of interesting phones.
But as quickly as this trend came along, it seems to be fading away. The best Android of 2021 feature an in-display camera. The ZenFone 7 Pro has a pop-up camera with three sensors, but it's limited to select markets. Vivo is doing the same with its NEX series, with the NEX 3 and 3S offering pop-up selfie cameras with dual cameras, but like the ASUS, these phones are very limited in availability.
So why don't we see more phones with pop-up selfie cameras? The primary reason is the extra weight they add to the device. These units have a lot of complicated parts and require a motor to operate. All of this adds weight and thickness to a phone.
There's also the fact that pop-up modules can't be protected from water ingress, so phones with these modules don't offer water resistance. If you still want a phone with a pop-up selfie camera, though, the best option is the ZenFone 7 series.
