With the evolution of technology to a degree that we do not flinch twice on listening to an unexpected invention for everyday use, Xiaomi comes with one in today’s story. It turns out that the Chinese mobile maker Xiaomi has recently revealed that it filed a patent on a smartphone design that will be using a solar panel in its rear, for charging.
Comes as a surprise? There’s more. There’s also no question of any visible front camera, leading us to believe that the device will feature an under-display front camera, a new technology that was demonstrated by Xiaomi itself, few months back.
Smartphone with Solar Panel in the Rear
There are so many speculations going on since XIaomi has revealed this news. Is it feasible? Will it useful? There’s a flood of question waiting to be answered. First things first, Xiaomi filed this patent with the World Intellectual Property Office in July 2018, which means it has been working on it since a year now.
So, Xiaomi has patented a new smartphone design that houses a solar panel at the back of the phone. The design is evident but still will look like any other full screen smartphone from the front. The much more interesting part here is that despite the integration of a solar panel behind, the device isn’t known to be heavy. The backside of the phone appears to have a marginally raised bump but not very significant.
The area of solar reception covers almost 70% of the back for charging, by just keeping the phone exposing backs to the sunlight, without an AC adapter or a DC source. Speaking of solar charging, Xiaomi is not the only one that has come up with such a daunting idea. In 2010, LG launched a solar-powered charging cover, which even though had a great approach didn’t turn out to be very impressive. For every 10 mins charging time, it provided a talk-time of only 2 mins.
Sure, Xiaomi isn’t creating a charging cover but is actually integrating it in the device hardware, it is quite challenging. Xiaomi is known to always have taken a very practical idea when it comes to smartphone innovations, so we can expect something on the similar lines with this one too. There’s a lot we still don’t know about the project and its current status.
Under-Screen Front Camera and In-Display Fingerprint Sensor
Integrating an actual solar panel isn’t the only stop with the Chinese phone-maker. There appears to be no front camera on the front screen of the mobile, no notch on the display or room for a pop-out mechanism. This means that the device is going to have the rumored Xiaomi in-display front camera.
The dual-camera module illustrated in the patent includes a flash at the centre. There is also no room for a fingerprint sensor on the back of the smartphone, which points towards an in-display fingerprint sensor.
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