Vivo Apex All-Screen Smartphone Might Launch In China Next Month

Back in February, Vivo unveiled a concept smartphone called the Vivo Apex and it feature an all-screen design and a pop-up front-facing camera. Now, it looks like the Vivo Apex will not just be concept phone and it might actually launch next month.

It’s been discovered recently that Vivo has sent out invites for an Apex announcement in Shanghai, China on June 12, as first reported by The Verge. In addition to revealing the launch date, Vivo also posted a video to celebrate the upcoming FIFA World Cup. The short video showcases the Vivo Apex’s all-screen design and pop-up front camera.

The Vivo Apex prototype phone was revealed by the company during Mobile World Congress 2018. The device featured a 5.99-inch OLED display with an all-screen design that doesn’t have a notch. It’s also powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor with a USB Type-C connector and a 3.5mm headphone jack, according to Android Authority.

Another thing that sets the Vivo Apex apart from other smartphones is that it features a front-facing camera that slides out from inside it. Since the Apex doesn’t have any room for a notch, Vivo decided to put the front-facing camera in a mechanism that brings out the camera from inside the handset.

The Vivo Apex also features an in-display fingerprint scanner. The fingerprint scanner is located on the bottom half of the display. Vivo calls the technology Half-Screen In-Display Fingerprint Scanning and it turns the entire bottom half of the OLED screen into the fingerprint scanner. Vivo has already used an in-display fingerprint scanner for the X20 UD and the X21, but users would have to press their fingers on a specific part of the display in order for it to scan their fingerprint.

“From breakthroughs in audio, photography to In-Display Fingerprint Scanning Technology, Vivo has remained committed to realizing our vision for future smartphones. What we showcase in this concept phone is only a fraction of our innovation pipeline. We will continue to explore all possibilities to bring the best possible experiences to our consumers,” Vivo senior vice president Alex Feng said back in February.

It remains unclear if Apex will be the official name of the handset when it launches in China next month. There’s also no information on whether the consumer-ready version of the handset will come with the same specs as the prototype that Vivo unveiled during MWC 2018.

It’s expected that the handset will most likely be a China-exclusive phone, but it’s possible that it might be released in other regions sometime in the near future. Vivo is known for operating almost exclusively in Asia, as pointed out by Android Police.