CES 2020: OnePlus Unveils Concept One Smartphone with Magic Glass

At the ongoing 'CES 2020' technology conference Global smartphone maker OnePlus took the smartphone form factor to a new level, unveiled 'Concept One' with colour-shifting glass technology that makes the rear camera 'invisible.'

OnePlus work together with brand McLaren on the concept phone's design. "The invisible camera stands as a new form of camera design, one that spares the user from the compromises of current camera layouts," said Pete Lau, CEO and Founder of OnePlus.

The price of the 'Concept One' smartphone has not been disclosed yet. "The rear camera lenses are hidden by the dynamic electrochromic glass and only become visible when the camera is in use. This optimal solution is what OnePlus calls "Electronic CMF"-a new approach in industrial design," Lau elaborated.

The OnePlus Concept One glass uses organic particles to create changes in transparency so that the glass covering the camera lenses can shift in an instant from opaque black to entirely clear. As per the company, the glass also doubles as a built-in polarising filter for the camera that allows users to achieve sharper, more finely detailed shots under strong light.

The OnePlus Concept One draws inspiration from similar technology used in McLaren's 720S Spider luxury sports car, which features a retractable hardtop glazed with an electrochromic glass panel that can rapidly switch between tinted and transparent states.

Jo Lewis, Colour and Materials Design Manager at McLaren Automotive, "At McLaren, we select the best quality leathers produced in the UK; it's a material that exudes luxury, and we are keen to offer our expertise in the design of this OnePlus concept device."

Although electrochromic glass has already been put in some limited applications in cars and planes, miniaturising the technology for use in phones is the first such effort. For 'Concept One', the glass panels are just 0.1mm each, for a combined thickness of 0.35mm -- thin as a display glass protector film.

The Concept One takes a mere 0.7 second for the glass to transition from solid black to fully clear, faster even than the camera itself takes to activate fully.