Pricey smartphone makers, please cease with the bezel-less shows

If you happen to choose up any smartphone today — whether or not it is an iPhone 16, a Galaxy S25, a Pixel 9, or one thing else — there is a robust probability its bezel can be tiny or non-existent. Saying the design trait is all the fashion can be an understatement, as the one means yow will discover something completely different is by purchasing for funds fashions. As soon as the 2025 iPhone SE rolls round, you will not have a selection in any respect if you’d like a brand new mannequin primarily based on Apple’s platform.

For a lot of of you, bezels are in all probability a minor subject, and I get that. However personally talking, some latest incidents have known as consideration to the downsides of eradicating them, and I believe I am not alone in considering telephone makers ought to dial again their ambitions. Transport a pure glass brick is not essentially an indication of progress, regardless of what glitzy PR occasions and movies would have you ever imagine.

Tight grips and shut misses

Actual-world usability issues

My greatest grievance concerning the iPhone 16 Professional is not the questionable usefulness of Apple Intelligence or the Digital camera Management button, however merely how simple it’s to set off one thing just by holding the telephone the flawed means. At this level, I am unable to depend what number of instances I’ve raised my telephone solely to note the icons shaking, which means iOS thought I used to be tapping and holding the homescreen to rearrange icons. At different instances, I’ve launched apps and even in-app choices with out realizing it. Typically there is a haptic buzz to inform me, however typically not.

It is slightly ironic, as a result of early on, some iPhone 16 homeowners had been having the exact opposite problem — palm rejection was blocking contact inputs. Now, although, we’re on the level that I’ve caught iOS doing issues after I knew my fingers had been solely near the display, not on it. I made it a degree to concentrate after I first began encountering undesirable contact inputs, considering I used to be simply being a klutz. Apparently I wasn’t.

The bezels on the iPhone 16 Professional are at the least partly in charge, if not solely. They’re even thinner than on the 15 Professional, leaving virtually nowhere on your fingers to relaxation if you’d like a agency grip. I am utilizing a fairly thick UAG case, so I can solely think about the difficulty cropping up for individuals who have a minimalist case on their telephone, or no safety in any respect. I might be launching issues each 5 seconds on a unadorned iPhone.

Talking of instances, eliminating bezels typically makes a case obligatory, particularly for units with curved edges. It is like they’re designed to crack on the sidewalk. That in itself would not be a giant deal — you want to shield a $400-plus cellular machine regardless — however telephone makers additionally appear to disregard how instances and touchscreens work together. Nowadays, it isn’t unusual for the lip of a case to dam faucets and swipes, whereas just some years in the past that was a uncommon downside, at the least in my expertise. Relying on the apps you employ every day, you may end up more and more irritated.

A number of millimeters of bezel could make a world of distinction with regards to the sturdiness and usefulness of a telephone. So is there any probability of getting our bezels again?

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The unlucky march of progress

A one-way street

I really feel like I am shouting within the wilderness, sadly. The development in the direction of bezel-less telephones has been underway for nicely over a decade — what was as soon as a gimmick (totally on Samsung units) is now the default. There’s in all probability no means of speaking telephone makers out of it, particularly since they may level to gross sales being unaffected by complaints. If something, they’d in all probability argue that slim bezels appear to spice up gross sales figures. They’re additionally good for revenue margins, because it means much less cash spent on aluminum, metal, plastic, or titanium. The distinction is likely to be just a few cents per telephone, however that provides up while you’re delivery tens of millions of models and want to determine a provide chain.

The recognition of going bezel-less makes some sense. Many early smartphones had thick bezels, a consequence of the show know-how on the time. As time went on, thinner bezels turned a logo of progress, to the purpose that fashionable customers are subconsciously primed for it. Furthermore, shrinking edges turned functionally essential to allow the massive shows we’ve now — you would not desire a 6.3-inch display in your pocket if it had bezels as thick as the unique iPhone. Trendy folding designs can be out of the query.

Essentially the most we will do, I might wager, is make occasional complaints, hoping that telephone makers choose up on them. Maybe there are design workarounds that’ll fulfill everybody — I do know I might be glad if I may get an iPhone 17 or 18 with an angled lip, which might shield my telephone whereas nonetheless letting me swipe easily between apps. A person can dream, I suppose. There’s simply not a lot probability of combating the tide at this stage.

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