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UV photography and the mysterious Huawei P50 Pocket
by David Lee
Huawei and the mystery of the laptop nose cam
8/11/2023
Translation: Katherine Martin
What the heck is that? This is what I thought to myself recently when I caught sight of my colleague Veronica’s laptop. A Huawei model with a pretty, Macbook-style look. And a webcam straight from the depths of engineering hell.
It’s a phenomenon we in the tech business are fairly used to. Innovations are announced to great fanfare, only to quickly prove useless and fade into obscurity once again. Huawei, however, is demonstrating a certain steadfastness, refusing to ditch the edgy camera that first appeared on its notebooks in 2018.
The search for the best camera spot
After all, if the webcam can’t fit into the laptop lid, the logical conclusion is that it has to go elsewhere. To be honest, I don’t think placing it in line with the function keys is that far-fetched. It’s not like I know what all these keys do anyway.
However, just because you’ve found a place for something doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a good one. There’s no doubt that it’s a nice touch from an engineering point of view when you press a button and, instead of something happening on the screen, a camera pops out. It takes real design know-how to get such delicate spring mechanisms right.
When you’ve got the most awkward camera angle on the video call
So, there it is – the camera. Sticking out of the keyboard like a pimple. The moment comes for you to boot up your fancy new Huawei notebook for the first time and join a video call. Initially, your gaze falls on the monitor, where everybody’s cheerful faces are displayed. And then? Then, you catch sight of yourself at the bottom right. Filmed at a 45-degree angle from below.
I’m going to go out on a limb here and call this angle...unfavourable. Nobody wants to be filmed or photographed from below. That being said, here’s what I found on the website of a photography studio specialising in portraits:
If you photograph a person from below, they appear taller, grander or possibly even snobby. We’re essentially left 'looking up to' the person When company bosses have photographs taken, this is often what they want to see.»
True enough. Displayed at Huawei’s dizzyingly steep camera angle, however, you look anything but «grand». Worst-case scenario, the sight of your bogies or nose hair instead of the thinning hair on your head will leave everyone feeling unnerved. And don’t even think about typing anything on your notebook during a video call. Your fingers will look massive – like the sandworms in Dune. Fair play to Veronica, whose fingers look distinctly less worm-like than mine.
So did Huawei ever get the message? Not initially. The nose cam also appeared in the Matebook series from late 2021. It wasn’t until the MateBook X Pro came out in 2022 that the developers wised up and found a space for the camera at the top of the screen after all.
Can you think of any other engineering blunders from the world of technology? Like that Apple mouse with the charging port on the bottom, perhaps? I look forward to reading your comments.
Header image: Christian Walker
Martin Jungfer
Head of Content
Martin.Jungfer@digitecgalaxus.chJournalist since 1997. Stopovers in Franconia (or the Franken region), Lake Constance, Obwalden, Nidwalden and Zurich. Father since 2014. Expert in editorial organisation and motivation. Focus on sustainability, home office tools, beautiful things for the home, creative toys and sports equipment.
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