Lenovo seems to have found a new way to have a notch for a selfie camera on a smartphone that doesn't involve a display.
Lenovo has filed a patent with China's State Intellectual Property Office (CNIPA) that shows a reverse notch design that can be implemented on smartphones.
A reverse notch or reverse notch basically means that there will be a small outward protrusion at the top of the bezel that holds the selfie camera. This solution will allow the phone to provide a comprehensive display with no holes or gaps.
The patent shows the reverse notch design on several Lenovo/Motorola phones.
As can be seen from the patent picture, the reverse recess protrudes from the upper left or upper right corner of the border.
The bump looks slightly bulky and distracting, but it's a way to not have to sacrifice part of the display.
This solution is also a good alternative, as the pop-up front camera sacrifices IP waterproof rating and creates durability issues.
The patent illustrates what the reverse notch looks like on different types of smartphones, including Moto Z phones that look like they support Moto Mods.
As a result, the next Moto Z phone is likely to feature a reverse notch design.
In addition, 91mobiles has uncovered a patent from Xiaomi for a smartphone with a unique "twist" camera design.
Looking at the patent image, the phone's display will be split into several sections, with smaller sections that can be twisted or rotated to bring the rear camera to the front.