Samsung SelfieType turns your front-facing camera into an invisible keyboard

Banging out long messages or emails on your phone isn't always a great experience, no matter how large displays are getting these. It's easy to make typos and a physical keyboard is just so much faster. Samsung is hoping to address this with new tech called SelfieType.

When you prop up your phone, SelfieType essentially creates an invisible keyboard in front of the device. The phone's front-facing camera and a "proprietary AI engine" track your fingers and convert them into key strokes.

The keyboard is quite literally invisible however, so it sounds like you'll need excellent touch typing skills to make the most of SelfieType. (Alternatively, you could carry a little roll-up mat around.) The lack of the physical feedback could be an issue too, but hey, if Samsung's AI is smart enough, there's a chance SelfieType could be a nifty way to type a little faster on your phone - at least when coupled with autocorrect.

SelfieType only exists in demo form right now, but the technology is intriguing enough that we're hoping we'll see it pop up in a Samsung smartphone sooner rather than later.

Alex Choros

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Alex Choros is the Managing Editor of WhistleOut Australia and an award-winning journalist. He's been writing about consumer technology for over a decade and is an expert on the Australian telco sector, to the point where he knows far too many phone and internet plans by heart. In addition to leading the WhistleOut editorial team, Alex is responsible for ruining the office Sonos with his troubled taste in music.

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