Front-facing camera

While stand-alone cameras face forward, away from the operator, tablets, smartphones and similar mobile devices typically have a camera facing the operator to allow taking a self-portrait photograph or video while looking at the display of the device, usually showing a live preview of the image.

These are called front-facing cameras and are important for videotelephony and the taking of selfies.

Introduced in 1995 it was the first consumer digital camera with a color LCD display.

This allowed for the user to point the camera at themself while viewing the LCD display.

[14] In May 2017, the Essential Phone introduced the notch - the removal of part of the display to accommodate the front-facing camera.