The idea of an all-screen phone has been here for a while now. Many phone companies have been rushing against time to be the first ones to release it. For example, LG is working on an all-screen phone but the company isn’t ready yet. Details on how much progress other manufacturers have made regarding all-screen phones are also sketchy. But nonetheless, it’s more of a question of when than if.
Well, Vivo plans to release such a smartphone by June this year. For most of us who have followed Vivo over the last few months, this news is not entirely a surprise. The company had already released a concept for the all-screen phone dubbed the Vivo Apex in February this year. At the time, we didn’t think the company would move with this kind of speed to make the concept a reality. But it seems that we were all wrong.
Vivo has released a number of video teasers that suggest the all-screen phone is finally here. From the video we have watched, the Apex will feature a flip-up selfie camera. There was also a save the date notice in the video for June 12 for an event in Shanghai. We are presuming that this is the day that the phone will finally be revealed.
The details about the phone were not as clear as we hoped in the video. But if the Apex looks anything like the concept shown back in February, then there’s too much information already out there that can give us something to look forward to. Vivo released a press release for the concept in February and a number of features were highlighted.
First, the company said that it’s looking to adapt to phone users’ habits and as such, it will be adding an 8MP elevating front camera to the phone. The camera seamlessly rises and retracts in just 0.8 seconds. There’s also a hidden proximity sensor and ambient light sensor. This innovation in design has removed the space that’s often taken by the conventional front camera in other smartphones.
But Vivo is not the only company that has stepped up in design innovation. Doogee, another smartphone maker, has prototypes for an all-screen phone too that features the same hidden sensors and elevating front camera as the Vivo Apex. Doogee also had another version where the screen would slide off a bit to reveal the camera. We also saw a sketch design for the Lenovo Z5 that claims to offer an all-screen device. The camera mechanism at the front was really not clear.
But these are just prototypes so it looks like Vivo is the only company at the moment that has a real product to launch. June is not far away and we can’t wait. It will be interesting to see just how the new all-screen Vivo Apex will actually look like.
