The Samsung Galaxy A80’s pop-up, rotating camera is an astonishingly complicated solution to the anti-notch movement, but it’s hard not to be entranced by the
The Samsung Galaxy A80’s pop-up, rotating camera is an astonishingly complicated solution to the anti-notch movement, but it’s hard not to be entranced by the geekily-gimmicky smartphone. Announced today, the A80 manages to outshine the Galaxy S10 by virtue of its motorized camera.
At first glance, you’d be forgiven for assuming the Galaxy A80 was just a regular Samsung device. On the back there are three cameras: a main 48-megapixel sensor, an ultra-wide 8-megapixel sensor with a 123-degree field of view, and finally a 3D depth sensor.
It’s when you look at the front that the difference strikes you. Or, more accurately, when you realize what’s absent. Samsung has done away with the front-facing camera, which allows it to have a fully edge-to-edge screen with no cut-out, hole punch, or notch. It’s a big panel, too: 6.7-inches of 2400 x 1080 Super AMOLED.
Hit the front-facing camera button in Samsung’s camera app, and something mesmerizing happens. The top of the phone quickly slides up, the lozenge-shaped camera array flips around, and suddenly those three rear sensors are facing you. Tap the button again, and the cameras whip 180-degrees again.
