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

In case you choose 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 sturdy likelihood its bezel shall be tiny or non-existent. Saying the design trait is all the fad could be an understatement, as the one manner yow will discover something totally different is by looking for finances fashions. As soon as the 2025 iPhone SE rolls round, you will not have a selection in any respect if you would like a brand new mannequin primarily based on Apple’s platform.

For a lot of of you, bezels are most likely a minor subject, and I get that. However personally talking, some current incidents have referred to as consideration to the downsides of eradicating them, and I believe I am not alone in considering cellphone makers ought to dial again their ambitions. Delivery 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 criticism 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 cellphone the flawed manner. At this level, I can not depend what number of occasions I’ve raised my cellphone solely to note the icons shaking, that 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. Generally there is a haptic buzz to inform me, however typically not.

It is a little bit ironic, as a result of early on, some iPhone 16 homeowners 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 once I knew my fingers have been solely near the display screen, not on it. I made it a degree to concentrate once 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 not less than partly responsible, if not solely. They’re even thinner than on the 15 Professional, leaving virtually nowhere on your fingers to relaxation if you would 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 necessary, particularly for gadgets with curved edges. It is like they’re designed to crack on the sidewalk. That in itself would not be an enormous deal — you might want to defend a $400-plus cell system regardless — however cellphone makers additionally appear to disregard how circumstances and touchscreens work together. Nowadays, 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 downside, not less than in my expertise. Relying on the apps you employ each day, you may end up more and more irritated.

Just a few millimeters of bezel could make a world of distinction in the case of the sturdiness and usefulness of a cellphone. So is there any likelihood 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 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 most likely no manner of speaking cellphone makers out of it, particularly since they might level to gross sales being unaffected by complaints. If something, they’d most likely 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 number of cents per cellphone, however that provides up whenever you’re delivery tens of millions 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 grew to become a logo of progress, to the purpose that trendy shoppers are subconsciously primed for it. Furthermore, shrinking edges grew to become functionally essential to allow the massive shows we’ve got now — you would not need a 6.3-inch display screen 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 choose up on them. Maybe there are design workarounds that’ll fulfill everybody — I do know I would be pleased if I might 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 likelihood of combating the tide at this stage.

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