Oppo and Xiaomi show off under-display camera tech - coming to next-gen phones

Oppo and Xiaomi have shown off under-display camera tech within hours of each other. Oppo was first to show of its solution, with Xiaomi responding a few hours later - clearly not wanting to be seen to be behind their Chinese rival.

And, with Huawei's current woes, who can blame its rivals for wanting to make hay?

Over the last couple of years we've seen a lot of innovation in how front-facing cameras have been handled on the front of phones - first came the notches, then the punch holes, then the pop-ups.

Next, we're set to get camera underneath the screen instead, enabling manufacturers to create near-borderless edge-to-edge phone displays.

Oppo's demo video shows a handset that appears to be enclosed in a case. The short video shows the user flipping across to the front-facing camera and taking a photo with it. The software - presumably Oppo's Color OS - flashes up a white circle around the camera. The user then touches the area of the screen around the camera to dismiss it - the software then flips to the photo gallery.

Xiaomi's video shows two identically-sized handsets, one with a notch camera and one without. Both appear to unlock with face unlock and then the user takes a selfie using the phone with the under-display camera.

Expect the first devices using under display camera tech to debut later this year.