Vivo teases a true all-display phone with pop-up camera for June 12th

Vivo is sending out hold-the-date invitations for what looks to be the production version of the Apex concept phone that wowed the world back in February. The Apex, as you might recall, featured three impressive technologies: a pop-up front-facing camera, an edge-to-edge display with a claimed “world’s best” screen-to-body ratio, and an in-display fingerprint sensor that worked anywhere in the lower half of the display. The question is, how much of that gee-whiz tech will make it into the production device that will be announced in Shanghai on June 12th?

Vivo’s invite hedges a bit by saying it “continues Vivo’s vision with Apex FullView Concept Smartphone.” But we’re also teased with a glimpse of what seems to be the production device in the company’s first ad promoting Vivo as the official smartphone of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. In the ad, we see that big, glorious display that’s both notch-free and bezel-less, as well as the front-facing selfie camera that rises from the handset for a video call. That leaves only the half-screen in-display fingerprint scanning technology from the Apex concept in doubt. But don’t worry, Vivo has another more limited in-display fingerprint solution that’s already shipping.

The race is on for the first true all-display phone. Yeah, Apple pitches the iPhone X as “all screen,” but its notch suggests otherwise. So far we’ve got that sliding Doogee prototype in the running along with Lenovo’s Z5. The Z5, though, with a claimed screen-to-body ratio of 95 percent looks set for a June launch, according to the company’s chatty VP. But will it arrive before or after the 12th? That’s what the oddsmakers want to know.