Vivo shows off APEX concept with retractable cam, half-screen fingerprint sensor

Kyle Chua

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

Vivo shows off APEX concept with retractable cam, half-screen fingerprint sensor
The concept phone called the Vivo APEX ambitiously repositions the front-facing camera, fingerprint scanner and earpiece, eliminates any need for bezels

MANILA, Philippines – Instead of unveiling what rumors claimed was the Xplay 7, Vivo attends this year’s Mobile World Congress (MWC) with a rather attention-worthy concept: the Vivo APEX.

The APEX has 1.8mm bezels on the top and the sides – which Vivo says is the “thinnest in the industry” – and 4.3mm at the bottom. Vivo makes this possible by moving the fingerprint scanner, selfie camera, and earpiece to other parts of the phone, as demoed by The Verge.

Building upon what they unveiled at January’s CES with the X20 Plus UD (the first phone to have an on-screen fingerprint sensor), the APEX utilizes a larger in-display fingerprint scanner called the “Half-Screen In-Display Fingerprint Scanning Technology.” Rather than have a physical icon either on the front or on the rear of the phone, users can just press their fingerprints on a specific part of the display to unlock the phone. Here’s a screenshot of how it works from The Verge hands-on: 

ON-SCREEN SENSOR. The Verge demoes how the large on-screen sensor of the Apex Concept works. Screenshot from The Verge/YouTube

It even allows for two simultaneous inputs from two different fingerprints to ramp up security.

Positioning the selfie camera has been particularly problematic for manufacturers in their war against bezels with the best compromise being the now common, notch. The APEX hides the 8MP front camera in the phone with a mechanism that allows it to pop up and retract for use. A square-shaped camera emerges from the upper right portion of the phone.

As for phone calls, the APEX vibrates the screen itself like a speaker for it to work like a traditional earpiece.

Despite not having any current plans to release the APEX to the public, Vivo makes a solid showing at this year’s MWC, turning heads again with some pretty innovative first-of-its-kind tech.

You may also read Vivo’s official news release here. – Rappler.com

Add a comment

Sort by

There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.

Summarize this article with AI

How does this make you feel?

Loading
Download the Rappler App!