Imagine an all-seeing eye that you don’t really see.
Given that our smartphones are getting more and more cameras, the idea of creating discrete lenses is really appealing. Now, OnePlus and McLaren brands have teamed up to turn those incognito dreams into reality.
The Chinese phone brand and British high-end car maker have just unveiled a new mobile phone concept at the CES 2020 event, which uses electro-chrome glass technology, which can also be seen in super-branded supercars, to create an invisible camera. Concept One is the first phone to have color-changing glass that uses organic particles to create a change in transparency. The glass that covers the camera lens can change in 0.7 seconds, which is actually faster than activating any camera.
Concept One
Electrochromic glass typically consists of two panels of glass with a material that changes color, placed between them, which is why they are large in their dimensions. However, with this creation, OnePlus was able to create something thinner than average: individual panels have a thickness of 0.1 mm, which makes them as thin as a protective film.
“Invisible cameras represent a new form of design that saves users from the compromise of current camera layouts,” said OnePlus CEO and founder, Pit Lau. Still, this glass is just the cherry on the whipped cream when it comes to a sleek mobile phone. The OnePlus-McLaren collaboration has given the Concept One a very important luxury dimension. Inspired by the McLaren brand’s 720S Spider model, which has an electrochromic glass roof, this phone has been given a delicate leather in iconic McLaren papaya orange. We can say that it has the same finishing details as a $300,000 sports car.
“At the McLaren brand, we choose the best quality leather produced in the United Kingdom. It’s a luxury material, and we want to keep our expertise in the design of the OnePlus concept unit, “said McLaren Brand and Color Design Manager Joe Lewis.
And while OnePlus does not plan to launch Concept One publicly, at least not yet, its design offered, if nothing else, an elegant solution to the multiple camera dilemma. Now our mobile phones can be as sleek as McLaren Spider cars.
Concept One
