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

If you happen to decide up any smartphone nowadays — 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 shall be tiny or non-existent. Saying the design trait is all the trend could be an understatement, as the one method you’ll find something completely different is by purchasing for finances fashions. As soon as the 2025 iPhone SE rolls round, you will not have a alternative 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 difficulty, and I get that. However personally talking, some current incidents have known as consideration to the downsides of eradicating them, and I think I am not alone in pondering cellphone 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 consider.

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 straightforward it’s to set off one thing just by holding the cellphone the unsuitable method. At this level, I can not depend what number of occasions I’ve raised my cellphone solely to note the icons shaking, which means iOS thought I used to be tapping and holding the homescreen to rearrange icons. At different occasions, I’ve launched apps and even in-app choices with out realizing it. Typically there is a haptic buzz to inform me, however generally not.

It is a little bit ironic, as a result of early on, some iPhone 16 house owners have 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 have been solely near the display, not on it. I made it a degree to concentrate after I first began encountering undesirable contact inputs, pondering I used to be simply being a klutz. Apparently I wasn’t.

The bezels on the iPhone 16 Professional are no less than partly in charge, if not totally. They’re even thinner than on the 15 Professional, leaving virtually nowhere to 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 cellphone, or no safety in any respect. I would be launching issues each 5 seconds on a unadorned iPhone.

Talking of circumstances, eliminating bezels usually makes a case obligatory, particularly for gadgets with curved edges. It is like they’re designed to crack on the sidewalk. That in itself would not be a giant deal — it is advisable to defend a $400-plus cell system regardless — however cellphone makers additionally appear to disregard how circumstances and touchscreens work together. Today, it is not unusual for the lip of a case to dam faucets and swipes, whereas only a few years in the past that was a uncommon drawback, no less than in my expertise. Relying on the apps you employ each day, you would possibly end up more and more irritated.

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

Associated

The iPhone 16’s Camera Control button sucks right now

It is each half-baked and redundant for lots of customers.

The unlucky march of progress

A one-way street

I really feel like I am shouting within the wilderness, sadly. The development in direction of bezel-less telephones has been underway for properly over a decade — what was as soon as a gimmick (totally on Samsung gadgets) is now the default. There’s in all probability no method of speaking cellphone 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 may be a couple of cents per cellphone, however that provides up while you’re transport hundreds of thousands of items 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 an emblem of progress, to the purpose that trendy customers are subconsciously primed for it. Furthermore, shrinking edges turned functionally essential to allow the massive shows we have now now — you would not desire a 6.3-inch display in your pocket if it had bezels as thick as the unique iPhone. Fashionable folding designs could be out of the query.

Essentially the most we are able to do, I would wager, is make occasional complaints, hoping that cellphone makers decide up on them. Maybe there are design workarounds that’ll fulfill everybody — I do know I would be completely satisfied if I may get an iPhone 17 or 18 with an angled lip, which might defend my cellphone 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.

Associated

How to spot an AI generated video

It is a ability it is advisable to separate truth from propaganda.