No Stupid Questions @lemmy.world between2boobies @lemmynsfw.com 1 yr. ago

Smartphones without a selfie camera?

I have never taken a selfie in my entire life. The feature is entirely pointless for me. Are there any smartphones that don't have a front facing camera?

63 comments

I don't think of it as a selfie camera, I think of it as a camera for video calls.
- For me it's a giant hole in my screen that doesn't serve any purpose.
  
  look, if you cant figure out what to do with holes thats your problem
  
  It has purpose. The billionaires use it to spy on you
No mass market phone will come without selfie camera. And any special purpose phones will be too expensive. Maybe just buy one without notch and put a tape on it?
Just don't use it, or put some sticker on it.
- yea, but you're still paying for it
  
  You're not. You're getting it as a free bonus to the personal pocket computer that also has all the phone functions and some more.
How about the Asus Zenfone 7 Pro it had a flip around camera which made the normal camera the selfie cam aswell. Or maybe the Xiaomi Mi 9T not really without a front camera but it had a pop up camera so you won't see it when you don't use it.
- They look pretty interesting, but they were released 3-4 years ago. Is there anything more recent?
  
  @between2boobies
  @pm_me_your_trash
  I am currently using the Xiaomi Mi 9T for the exact reason that it was one of the last phones to not have a hole in the display for the camera.
  Yes, Xiaomi stopped giving it software updates, but you can install Lineage OS if you want to upgrade to newer Android versions.
  Apart from that the phone still runs very smooth with everyday use and there is not much I am missing.
Not exactly the same but I bought a used OnePlus 7 Pro when they started cutting holes in my display.

It has a pop up selfie camera so you can a) see when it is active and b) don't have any notches on your screen.

Also makes for a great party gag.
- I miss my OnePlus 7 Pro for this and for just being an all around amazing phone. It's a shame OnePlus didn't continue with that pop up selfie cam on their devices.
- I wish the popup feature went mainstream, I too dislike a peephole in my screen.
  
  I wonder if they didn't catch on because it made spying on people more difficult.
  
  I assume most people don't care about a notch for the front facing camera so OnePlus didn't continue it since it adds complexity.
- I'm typing this on my Xiaomi Mi9T which also has a popup camera. This phone is on its last legs, I'm not looking forward to having to get a new one with a typical selfie camera. A popup camera just makes so much more sense.
  
  Maybe get one used? I replaced the battery and backplate on mine and it's like new.
How do you check for stuff in your teeth tho
- If we’re lucky, someone might eventually invent some sort of reflective wall we can look at
  
  Personally I don’t always carry a mirror but snark noted
- Alexa, what is a mirror?
  
  A mirror is a thing I don’t always have in my pocket. My phone, however…
  
  ITT: people who are never more than 2’ from a mirror, apparently. Wtf y’all live and work in fucking Versailles?
My phone, Poco F2 Pro has a motorized selfie camera, and as I barely use it it is almost as if it didn't have one.

It is awesome to have a full display of 6.67" with no notches or punch holes of any sort.
- In a similar vein, the One Plus has a selfie camera which retracts. For all intents and purposes as close as you'll get
  
  The retractable cameras are fun, as you always know when an app uses it.
  
  I've had it two times now, that I sat on the shitter and wanted to search something on the builtin chrome browser, and voila! Front cam pops up!
  
  Wasn't even anything with video or images.
  
  Which model?
I was actually looking for the same thing - having a camera constantly pointing at me gives me anxiety (to the point where I've perfected the "cover hold" where I always have part of my thumb covering it), but gave up when I realised the compromises on other features I would need to make in order to get a phone without one (in the case of the Poco F2 Pro - an IP rating).

So I bought a "regular" phone and I'm now instead waiting for a delivery of some vinyl camera cover stickers, you can get them pretty cheap online (if you want to avoid amazon you might need to look a little harder, but they are available). My only concern is the other sensors in the camera notch that might be impacted (the always on display thinking the phone is in bag/facing down and not displaying for example), but am hoping I can find workarounds for those issues.

Privacy in general isn't something phone manufacturers are going to be catering for since they make a ton of their money selling data and/or access to it, so it'd be counterproductive in their eyes.

Which I know isn't really what you were asking, but I thought I'd let you know in case you came to a similar conclusion as me.
- You could go to a cell phone repair joint and ask them to physically disconnect the camera's data connections, or if that's not easy (perhaps it's soldered directly onto the motherboard) they could break the camera for you in a controlled manner. Probably wouldn't cost much for an expert to shove a needle into exactly the right place.
  
  Seems like overkill in my case, but maybe perfect for some.
I use my front facing camera to see under things all the time. It's very useful, even though I don't take selfies. I'm an engineer though so I probably spend more time looking under things than most.
It’s not smart but I remember there used to be a flip model of LG than had the camera in the hinge and you could roll it to either side.
Take a look at the LG wing
You could get a fair phone and remove the camera.
I know the Samsung Galaxy Ace 4 Lite didn't have one but it's an old phone.
Tape
Unfortunately, the target market is largely one of narcissists.
- Or, I actually like to take a photo of myself and my partner somewhere without having to ask someone once in a while.
- edgy

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