Update 3:37 pm ET: We've posted our ZenFone 6 hands-on review. See our impressions.
Vivo started the craze with the first Nex S and its motorized camera that popped from its top edge. Then Oppo released the Find X, which had a motorized sliding display to reveal its selfie cameras. The Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 achieves the same effect but instead uses powerful magnets to manually slide the display at the touch of a finger.
We have reached peak phone design craziness, friends. Or absolute genius, depending on what do you think of Asus’ solution to the notchless dilemma: Its new ZenFone 6 will reportedly have a back camera that flips up 180 degrees to serve as selfie camera. Yeah — what?
After my first “WTF” reaction I have started to think that this approach may be genius — or at least the best, most efficient option of all the notchless designs.
I have lost count of all the creative ways that Chinese manufacturers have been trying to make their phones completely notchless and bezelless, so let’s review:
The Nubia X took it to a new level by adding a secondary screen to the back of the phone, so you could use the main cameras to take better selfies. And recently, Oppo released the Reno, a phone with a pop-up camera that appears diagonally.
Now, according to Slashleaks, the Asus ZenFone 6 has two back cameras that look totally normal until you want to take a selfie. The main camera package can allegedly flip 180-degree ready to shoot your mug. This basically combines the pop-up Nex S solution with Nubia X’s use-the-main-camera-for-selfies solution into one — without the extra screen.
There are no details about the ZenFone’s mechanism in this leak. It may be mechanic or a spring-loaded system that you have to reset manually. Both cases work for me, although I assume that spring-loaded will be much faster.
A monster 5000mAh battery
The ZenFone 6’s tricks don’t stop in this novel camera design. Its rumored battery pack spec is impressive too: a monster 5,000 mAh power pack that has prompted Asus to make fun of its main rival, the OnePlus 7 Pro and its 3,700 mAh battery.
The Asus ZenFone 6 allegedly has the following specs, according to Slashleaks: 6.3-inch (2340×1080) OLED display, Snapdragon 855 processor, and the aforementioned 48MP and12MP main camera sensors that can double as selfie sensor. It will come in 4GB, 8GB and 12GB RAM flavors, with 128GB, 256GB or 512GB storage options.
I just hope that it goes “boing!” when the camera flips.
