Oppo’s Bubble is a thin round screen for taking rear camera selfies

Andrew Liszewski is a senior reporter who’s been covering and reviewing the latest gadgets and tech since 2006, but has loved all things electronic since he was a kid.Oppo launched a new smartphone accessory that makes it easier to snap selfies using your smartphone’s rear cameras that typically feature better sensors than front-facing cameras. The Bubble offers similar functionality to the recently announced Insta360 Snap with a screen providing live camera previews so you can properly frame shots, plus remote camera controls and a shutter button. What sets the Bubble apart is a thinner design, wireless capabilities up to nearly 33 feet away, and, unfortunately, limited device compatibility.The Oppo Bubble is currently available in China for 499 yuan, or around $73, but the company hasn’t confirmed if the accessory will see a global release. It features a round AMOLED touchscreen with a 550mAh battery, but it’s only seven-millimeters thick. The company hasn’t specified the Bubble’s estimated battery life, but it needs to be charged through a USB-C port on the bottom instead of powering up wirelessly when attached to the back of a phone.Some Oppo devices do support wireless charging, but the company hasn’t released any with built-in magnetic rings for attaching accessories. To dock the Bubble to an Oppo phone, you’ll need to add a magnetic case. The screen can also be attached directly to devices with embedded magnets like iPhones and recent Pixel phones, but Oppo has only made the Bubble compatible with a small assortment of its own devices including the Reno 14, 15, and 16, as well as the Find X8, X9, X9 Pro, and X9 Ultra, through an accompanying mobile app. The company hasn’t announced plans to expand the Bubble’s compatibility to devices from other companies.Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.Andrew Liszewski