WATCH: APEX concept phone removes “notch” by hiding selfie camera

A glimpse of what a “notchless” smartphone with ultra-thin bezels could be has been delivered through a concept phone by Chinese manufacturer Vivo.

In a statement, the company has dubbed the device the APEX FullView concept phone. It unveiled the APEX at the annual Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, which runs from Feb. 26 to March 1.

The concept phone includes a number of noteworthy features. First of all, the black notch for the camera and ear piece found at the top of most thin bezel devices like the iPhone X and Essential Phone has disappeared. The APEX accomplishes this by hiding the selfie camera and have it pop out when the user turns it on. Vivo replaced the speaker with a vibrating display panel using Screen SoundCasting Technology to transmit sound when making a call.

Another notable feature involves the embedded fingerprint scanner on the display itself. Vivo calls it the Half-Screen In-Display Fingerprint Scanning Technology. The size of the fingerprint scanning area also allows two fingerprints to be scanned at the same time for added security.

The APEX itself won’t be appearing on store shelves, but it stands as a proof of concept on what can be expected from future smartphones. /ra

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