When it comes to smartphones, there is almost no limit to innovation. We have already seen phones like Vivo APEX with a pop-up front-facing camera along with phone makers patenting a unique form factor for the foldable phones. Oppo, however, has gone one step further to patent a design with a pop-up display (yes, pop-up display not a pop-up camera).
Phone with pop-up display – what it means
Oppo’s new patent is surely a head turner. So far, we have seen a pop-up camera and a slider screen, but thinking of a phone with a pop-up display is truly innovative. The new patent – published by WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) on January 29, 2019 – is from Guangdong Oppo Mobile Telecommunications for an “Electronic device with display panel.”
Oppo’s new patent includes sketches of the design. LetsGoDigital, which spotted the patent, has come up with their own renders of it based on the patent sketches.
As per the images, the second screen pops out from the primary screen. Further, the patent images show that the primary display would feature a front-facing camera sensor and an earpiece in the top bezel. This means no notches or punch-hole.
The main objective of a phone with a pop-up display would be to extend the screen size of the phone without investing heavily in foldable phones. However, unlike the foldable phone, Oppo’s pop-up display phone would offer a screen that is smaller than the primary screen.
In fact, the secondary screen appears much slimmer and narrower than the main display. It appears the secondary screen is about one-third the height of the main display.
A phone with a pop-up display could come in very handy when viewing media content in full-screen on the primary display. In this case, the secondary display could act as a remote control. Similarly, such a display setup could prove useful while playing games and more.
Is Oppo bringing back the slider mechanism?
Along with the phone with a pop-up display, Oppo also patented a phone with a slider display. However, unlike the vertical sliding mechanism in the Oppo Find X, this new design features a horizontal slider that slides from the left. This secondary slider screen could be used as a keyboard or as a controller when playing games. Similar to the phone with a pop-up display, the patent images with the slider display also show a camera module and earpiece in the top bezel.
Oppo’s slider display patent reminds us of the HTC Desire Z device, which came almost a decade ago. At the time, the phone was preferred by many who used conventional QWERTY typing. Now that QWERTY keyboards are the norm, it wouldn’t be surprising to see a slider mechanism make a comeback (without physical buttons).
Prior to the HTC Desire Z, a similar concept was popularized by the LG GW520 and Nokia 6760. Samsung also used the slider mechanism for the Samsung Chat BT3410W.
Reno listed on Oppo online store in China
Oppo, meanwhile, is scheduled to launch the Oppo Reno smartphone series on April 10 in China. The Reno series is expected to come in several variants, including a budget model, a high-end model, a camera-centric phone and more.
So far there has been no official information on the Reno series. However, thanks to tipster Venkatesh Babu.G, we now have some specifications of the phones in the Reno series. The tipster with Twitter handle @smartvenkat95 spotted the Oppo Reno official China listing and shared the same with ValueWalk.
#Oppo Reno High-Quality Renders From Official China Site#48MP, VOOC 3.0 | Colors & Storage Variants Confirmed
Source: https://t.co/7oWfXFbSoHhttps://t.co/utAbvdrH7Ohttps://t.co/6HPzLXzhKmhttps://t.co/XUA4Ii4fsehttps://t.co/2Piq7LK1uWhttps://t.co/72tmZONFWL pic.twitter.com/Ex2RUH50Om— Venkatesh Babu.G (@smartvenkat95) April 3, 2019
The listing shows several variants of the Reno phones, such as 8GB/256GB model, 6GB/256GB model and 6GB/128GB model. Further, the listing also shows several color options, including fog sea green, extreme night black, mist power and nebula purple. Additionally, the listing confirms a 48 MP camera, as well as NFC and VOOC 3.0 support.
Also, the listing reveals the phone with a price tag of CNY9,999 ($1488 USD). The listing does not reveal more information, but previous leaks revealed that the camera would have a 10x hybrid zoom. Talking of the processor, rumors are that there will be two variants, one powered by a less powerful Snapdragon 755 and the other by a Snapdragon 855 chip.
After the launch in China, Oppo will launch its Reno phone in the UAE and Europe. The Chinese company will launch Reno phones in the UAE on April 16 and on April 24 in Zurich, Switzerland.
