The tweet mentions the terms “invisible camera” and colour-shifting glass tech, and comes with a video showing that at the end. According to Wired, this is done using electrochromic glass, with the help of McLaren.
— Pete Lau (@PeteLau) January 3, 2020 Electrochromic glass draws power from the phone to shift from opaque to translucent. This keeps the rear cameras hidden from view until the camera app is engaged. The transition from one state to the other takes just under a second on the OnePlus Concept One. In other applications of the electrochromatic glass, such as the windows of a Boweing 787 Dreamliner, this can take a few seconds.
Underneath the glass is the same camera setup as the OnePlus 7T Pro Mclaren, a 48MP + 16MP config. Having the electrochromatic glass also increased the device’s thickness by 0.1mm. The camera bump that you see on most phones these days are also gone.
As interesting as it sounds, the OnePlus Concept One will likely remain as a concept device. But on the other hand, Lau says that this allows the company to produce a smaller number of devices. With feedback from a small group of users, the company will then consider making a mass-market version. (Source: Pete Lau / Twitter, Wired)
