For the past several years, Samsung has used an under-display camera (UDC) for the internal selfie camera on its Fold series. The upcoming Galaxy Z Fold 7 is likely to keep the tech. However, the company may not continue with this invisible selfie camera for much longer. According to a new rumor floating around the Korean tech blogosphere, Samsung is exploring other solutions for the future.
Samsung mulls dropping UDC from future Fold models for better image quality
The scoop comes from known leaker yeux1122, who posted a brief update on the Korean microblogging platform Naver, citing industry insiders. According to them, Samsung is weighing whether it’s worth sticking with UDC in future devices. While this technology has its benefits — the camera disappears completely behind the screen when not in use, giving you an uninterrupted display experience — it’s tricky to perfect.
Despite using an under-display selfie camera on Fold models since the Galaxy Z Fold 3 in 2021, Samsung hasn’t been able to achieve the desired results in terms of image quality. No matter how low the pixel density is, a display panel directly above the camera can never be as clear as a sheet of glass. As such, you won’t get the same image quality as regular “visible” cameras.
Moreover, UDC is costlier to manufacture and scale, so its disadvantages outweigh its benefits. For these very reasons, Apple has reportedly decided to press pause on its own UDC plans. Now, it looks like Samsung might be quietly aligning with its arch-rival. While the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is certain to feature a hidden selfie camera, the Korean firm may drop it from subsequent models.
In fact, Samsung has already started showing signs. Remember the Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition it launched last year in Korea and China? That phone skipped the under-display camera entirely. We didn’t think much about it at that time, but it looks like Samsung is moving on from the UDC experiment. The company may give it one last shot on the Fold 7, and if the results remain the same, the next Fold could have something else.
