With flip phones and QWERTY keyboard based smart phones face extinction, most smart phones are using the standard candy-bar form factor with a huge screen in front. There are couple of Chinese brands that tried to do something different like the OPPO N1/N3 series with a rotatable camera and a rather odd Doov Nike V1 that has a flip out camera lens.
Huawei is up to something as well and a new Honor device has been spotted on China’s TENAA database with a rather interesting camera design. Both front and rear cameras are placed onto a sliding module which can be popped-up when required. A large physical button is spotted at the sides, which could be used to spring the camera into action.
The rear camera is always visible no matter what position its on but the front camera remains hidden until the slider is popped out. While it looks out of the norm, we simply don’t see any benefits of such approach considering the lens are still having a fixed position. At least on the OPPO N3, the rotating camera module is motorised, allowing you to take a hassle free panorama shots in either vertical or horizontal.
Perhaps the front of the smart phone looks cleaner this way but seriously nobody is complaining if there’s a selfie camera placed upfront. There’s no word on its full specs and if this aims to be a super camera phone, they should put more emphasis on its camera sensor, optics and its UI. Do you see any real benefits of a slider camera lens?
