ZTE has revealed its second-generation under-display selfie camera technology at the MWC Shanghai 2021 conference, according to the company's Weibo account. The new technology supposedly reduces the haze effect in the display area above the camera.

The Axon 20 5G, ZTE's first major smartphone with an under-display selfie camera, didn't exactly wow us. In our review, we noted ZTE is a nod to the future, showing off a convincing under-screen camera while delivering a long-lasting and ample performance in a fairly affordable package. It's in the details - auto-brightness adjustment and frame-like screen bezel - but, in the end, we called the cameras so-so and said they sometimes miss the mark.

Now, the Chinese company is introducing its second-generation under-display selfie camera technology, complete with an increase in the pixel density in the screen area above the selfie camera (from 200PPI to 400PPI). The area above the selfie camera and the rest of the display area is also described as “more consistent" than what we saw on the Axon 20 5G from last year, according to machine translations of ZTE's MWC 2021 announcement. 

ZTE also announced under-display 3D face unlock tech at the Shanghai conference, calling it the world’s first under-display 3D structured light scanner. ZTE indicated its under-display solution can be used for 3D facial recognition and also possibly for 3D modeling, augmented reality, and payments.