Today, smartphone makers are trying to "beat" each other by adding new modules and hardware features to their devices. For more than 5 years, such a thing as a front camera has been known in the mobile market. Previously, the front cameras had a purely decorative or auxiliary purpose. In particular, they were used on female mobile phones to act as mirrors, and with their help it was also easy to take a self portrait. However, the full potential of the front cameras was not used until the advent of a new generation of mobile technology.
Representatives of this new generation are modern smartphones and tablets. Most of them are controlled by the Android operating system. In these devices, the front camera is mainly used for video communication. However, in them video calls became possible far from immediately. Despite the early appearance of the Skype app for Android, not all Android devices supported it. Similarly, not on all devices, Skype recognized the second camera correctly. Because its use was practically reduced to zero, except that you could photograph yourself.
Having received many negative reviews about the incompatibility of applications for video communication with smartphones, the developers of the operating system took into account the shortcomings and, starting with the third version of the android, the front camera found its application. Among the various means of video communication, the above-mentioned Skype has become the most popular, which today is used by several million people.
Now the front camera is not just a means of video communication. There are many applications that also use it. Among them, there are several of the most interesting. Firstly, the front camera is used to turn off the alarm. After downloading a special alarm application, you can turn it off not by tapping the screen or other commonly used methods, but by passing your hand over the camera. There are quite unusual offers. For example, the Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphone uses innovative technology that controls the front camera. Its essence is that the camera recognizes the closing of the eyes. That is, if you fall asleep while holding a smartphone, it will automatically turn off, saving energy. On the same smartphone, this mode of operation is implemented when you do not have to touch the screen to go to the next photo or change the track in the playlist. Just hold your hand next to the screen. Such revolutionary opportunities open the way to future technologies.
The front camera is also used for simpler tasks. For example, on all Android smartphones, one of the customizable ways to unlock the screen is face control: comparing a face photo with a programmed original. For this, of course, the front camera is used. There are also special applications that allow you to use the front camera of your smartphone as a web camera for your PC.