Samsung’s Chinese rivals band together to create rivaling OLED tech

The Galaxy Z Fold 3 was the world’s first device to feature a camera under a foldable display. Although it had a few shortcomings, Samsung carried forward the technology unchanged with the Galaxy Z Fold 4, and currently, these are the only two smartphones that feature a camera under a foldable screen. Well, that could change very soon.

Reportedly, BOE, Huawei, and ZTE have developed a foldable OLED screen with an under-display camera, and it could debut with the Huawei Mate X4. More importantly, the new screen jointly developed by the three Chinese companies seems to be free from issues that we’ve seen with the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and the Galaxy Z Fold 4.

The latest leak comes from Digital Chat Station, and according to the tipster, this new display is called the “Q8”. Reportedly, it has a resolution of 2,480 x 1,116 pixels and a 1,440Hz PWM dimming. The tipster claims that the panel was showcased on a Huawei device, but it was manufactured by BOE with expertise from ZTE. DCS has also posted an image of it.

Under-display camera on Huawei Mate X4 could be better than Galaxy Z Fold 5

The quality of images taken with the under-display camera on the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and the Galaxy Z Fold 4 is nowhere as good as those taken with traditional selfie cameras. Plus, this sensor, even though placed under the screen, is visible to the naked eye in a few scenarios. According to the latest leak, the Q8 panel is free from these issues. If that’s indeed true, it’s great news for consumers as we’ll soon get to see more and more devices with foldable screens that are free from punch holes and notches.

For Samsung, however, the Q8 OLED panel screams trouble. There hasn’t been any report which suggests that the implementation of the under-display camera on the Galaxy Z Fold 5 will be better than its predecessors. It means that selfies taken with the under-display camera on this device could have poor quality, and the screen surrounding the camera sensor could look pixelated. In that case, the Huawei Mate X4 with the Q8 panel might offer a more polished under-display camera experience.