DxOMark reviews first phone with under-display camera, and it’s bad
Recognition: David Imel / Android Authority
- DxOMark has tested the ZTE Axon 20 5G selfie camera under the display.
- The phone received the second lowest score for selfie cameras in DxOMark history.
We spent some time earlier this year with the ZTE Axon 20 5G, the world’s first smartphone with a selfie camera under the display. Unfortunately, our first impressions showed that the quality definitely decreased compared to conventional selfie camera systems.
Now camera testing company DxOMark has done a comprehensive selfie camera review of this groundbreaking smartphone, giving the phone an incredibly low score of 26. It found that score was the second lowest score on its ranking, surpassed only by an inexpensive Intex device for the Indian market. The company added that the next score above the Axon 20 5G was more than double that.
Specifically, DxOMark said that photos had a lot of noise, unnatural skin tones, low dynamic range, and flare and color issues. The company also criticized portraits for numerous depth problems and poor detail. Videos captured with the ZTE Axon 20 5G’s front camera were also no better and showed some of the same issues as photos. However, clips also suffered from poor stabilization, ghosting and “coding artifacts” in poor lighting conditions. Check out this comparison between the ZTE phone, OnePlus 8 Pro, and Pixel 5.
In other words, it’s clear that ZTE’s under-display adoption of selfie camera technology still has a long way to go before it actually reaches the same level of quality as traditional selfie shooters. However, we assume that Xiaomi will also be on the rise in 2021, as it has been confirmed that the technology will be mass-produced this year.
The biggest challenge with selfie cameras under the display is that less light falls on the camera sensor compared to a conventional camera. This is because the light has to pass between the tiny gaps in the screen. ZTE’s solution is to have the display area above the screen have a substantially lower resolution than the rest of the screen, resulting in a slight cloudiness.
However, according to Xiaomi, the solution uses proprietary technology in the display area above the camera to ensure that more light falls on the camera without reducing the pixel density. The company is also promoting other tweaks to improve image quality with its under-display camera technology. However, we have to try the first product to see if all of these improvements translate into better image quality.
