OnePlus Concept One teased with 'invisible camera' and color-changing glass

OnePlus Concept One render Source: OnePlus

What you need to know

OnePlus has released a teaser clip for its new OnePlus Concept One smartphone.
It features an "invisible camera" and "color-shifting glass."
The phone will be shown off at CES next week.

In mid-December, OnePlus announced that it would take advantage of CES 2020 to unveil its first-ever concept device, aptly named the "OnePlus Concept One." On January 3, the company released a short teaser of the phone.

We’re bringing the #OnePlusConceptOne to #CES2020, but you don’t have to wait: you can get a sneak peek at it right here, along with its groundbreaking “invisible camera” and color-shifting glass technology. pic.twitter.com/elsV9DKctn
— OnePlus (@oneplus) January 3, 2020

The teaser is quite short, simply showing quick, up-close shots of the Concept One. The most interesting part is when we see the back of the phone, which has a distinct cutout of sorts on it. At first, it's a smooth glass back. However, three camera sensors and a flash then appear out of nowhere.

OnePlus is referring to this as an "invisible camera", and thanks to Wired, we have a little more background on how exactly this works.

The OnePlus Concept One has the same rear camera specs as the OnePlus 7T Pro McLaren phone: a 48-megapixel main camera with a 16-megapixel ultra-wide angle camera. The difference is in the electrochromic glass on the Concept One. It effectively shrouds the camera from plain sight, so that the phone appears lens-less when the camera app isn't open. Flick open the camera app, and a hint of a camera lens appears on the back on the phone. You have to look hard for the edges of it, as though you're searching for something in a dark room.

The technology used to pull this off is also found in the sunroof for the McLaren 720S, which makes sense considering OnePlus has previously partnered with the racing giant to create special McLaren Edition variants of its devices. With the Concept One, though, it looks like that partnership is being taken to a completely different level.

OnePlus is also teasing that the Concept One will offer "color-shifting glass", though it's less clear how it will work.

The OnePlus Concept One will be shown off at CES 2020 from January 7 - 10 at the Wynn Las Vegas, but just because OnePlus is already prepared to debut the phone in person, don't expect you'll be able to buy one for yourself.

Wired reports that OnePlus "has no plans to ship it anytime soon", with co-founder Pete Lau noting that the Concept One is a "bold exploration for OnePlus, and is also representation of overcoming a lot of engineering challenges."

Rest assured, we'll be on the ground at CES 2020 to get as up close and personal with the OnePlus Concept One as we can.

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