The front camera on the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Note 20 has been controversial, with some reports suggesting that Samsung may eventually adopt an under-display selfie cam, while others say it will not be ready in time. A newly discovered Samsung patent suggests the latter possibility, but there is a silver lining.

According to a series of patent images discovered by LetsGoDigital, Samsung has patented several designs for a "punch hole camera with status indicator." According to the pictures, this could allow Samsung to offer various types of status bars surrounding the front-facing camera to display task progress at a glance.

The status indicator in the picture is small, but would be useful for showing the progress of a download or the time remaining on a timer. Perhaps it could be used for a hands-off selfie mode. It would let you know how much time you have to pose before the camera turns off.

The patent image shows several versions of this status indicator, including one that wraps around the entire camera and vertical and horizontal progress bars. The pictures depict how this feature might work with both a centered punch-hole camera (such as the Infinity-O lens on the Galaxy S20 series and Galaxy Note 10) and an off-center camera option.

It is unclear which (if any) of these camera types will make it to the Note 20, but if Samsung cannot get an under-display camera to the next phablet in time, a front-facing status indicator could be a bit of a Note series It could serve as an upgrade. Samsung has a history of providing additional information on the secondary display, and older Note Edge devices have a curved side screen for quick access to apps and notifications.

Of course, there is no guarantee that this patented technology will be used in the Galaxy Note 20 or even next year's Samsung Galaxy S30. We expect Samsung to announce the Note 20 (and Galaxy Fold 2) this August.