Every other manufacturer releases smartphones with notches, but Lenovo takes a different approach and hinted at a notch-free design on its upcoming all-screen Z5.
Where's Everything?
The Chinese consumer electronics manufacturer recently teased a new handset via Weibo. Now that most smartphone makers aim to maximize the screen size on most of its products, engineers and designers run into the challenge of where to put its sensors and selfie camera.
Yet, based on the images posted online, it does not seem to have a front-facing camera and visible sensors on display.
Possibly The First Of Its Kind
According to reports, Chang Cheng, the company vice president, shared the announcement alongside a partially rendered image on the Chinese social media platform. What followed after is a product concept sketch affirming the absence of a notch or chin of any kind on the smartphone.
As it stands, the product reportedly boasts a 95 percent screen-to-body ratio with four never-before-seen advancements. A total of 18 patented technologies are supposedly included but everything should be taken with a pinch of salt until consumers see a live demonstration.
How Other Brands Overcame Restrictions
Lenovo has certainly captured the interests of both consumers and competitors with the preview of its Z5 smartphone. However, it did not elaborate exactly how it created a manufacturing breakthrough enabling it to create an all-screen smartphone.
A quick glance at how the competition approached its respective breakthroughs might hold a clue. So far, Vivo and Xiaomi are the two companies that have been working on the products, which are as close to the design flaunted by Lenovo but still come with a slightly thicker chin. The Apex features an automatic retractable front-facing camera while the Mi Mix 2 houses its secondary shooter on the lower right side of its chin.
In the meantime, Apple came close when it opted to fold the display controller below the iPhone X but loses points for the notch.
Speculated Technology included
It is clear that the all-screen design of the Lenovo Z5 will push it in front of the pack if it proves to be legitimate. Industry experts are speculating about the possible technology the smartphone might be packing under the hood to enable the bold design.
For now, the biggest unanswered question about the handset is the front-facing camera location. Experts believe that the component is a necessary evil on today's mobile devices. Therefore, its removal to allow the notch-less display is considered unacceptable for consumers.
To make it possible, the device might include workarounds such as a pop-up camera similar to the Vivo Apex for self-portraits, piezoelectric earpieces similar to the one on Xioami Mi Mix, and an in-display fingerprint sensor from Synaptics that was demonstrated on the Vivo X20 Plus UD.
