Last week, Vivo proudly announced the APEX FullView Android phone. It still is a concept device but it made us think of the future of smartphones. Vivo is usually advance in introducing new technologies. It’s the first to ever debut a phone with an in-display fingerprint sensor in the form of the Vivo X20Plus UD. The latest technology announced was the half-screen in-display fingerprint scanning accompanied by screen-to-body ratio, as well as, the pop-out camera. It sounded like an intelligent idea but (unfortunately), somebody else already thought of the idea. Apparently, Essential patented the idea first way before Vivo announced the concept.
Instead of a notch, Vivo made the front-facing camera slide-out from the top side. Once you launch the camera app, the camera will come out of its hiding. Push it down to close the camera and it’s gone. Essential did settle for a notch but a related patent was filed a couple of years ago. Andy Rubin & Co. was actually granted it only last year. We’re not sure if the Essential team is planning to add the idea to a next-gen Essential Phone but Vivo beat them to launch, albeit, as a concept only.
What Essential has though is more well, essential—a patent. The patent entitled “Apparatus and method to maximize the display area of a mobile device” The goal was to clear the front display for a larger view.
Vivo’s concept phone and Essential’s camera patent are “essentially” the same. It’s not clear what Essential has planned to do with the patent. A patent granted doesn’t mean a company will make it public. In the case of Essential and Vivo, Essential has the patent but Vivo is the one who made it a reality. Let’s see how this situation pans out.
VIA: Essential Phone
SOURCE: Google Patents, Andy Rubin
