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

For those who decide 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 sturdy likelihood its bezel will probably be tiny or non-existent. Saying the design trait is all the craze could be an understatement, as the one manner you will discover something totally different is by searching 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 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 pondering 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 largest 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 mistaken manner. At this level, I am unable to rely 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. Typically there is a haptic buzz to inform me, however typically not.

It is somewhat 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 at the very least partly responsible, if not completely. 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 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 an enormous deal — you want to shield a $400-plus cell gadget regardless — however cellphone makers additionally appear to disregard how instances and touchscreens work together. Lately, it isn’t 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, at the very 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 relating to the sturdiness and value 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 the direction of bezel-less telephones has been underway for properly over a decade — what was as soon as a gimmick (totally on Samsung units) 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 while you’re delivery tens of millions of models and wish 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 expertise on the time. As time went on, thinner bezels turned a logo of progress, to the purpose that trendy customers are subconsciously primed for it. Furthermore, shrinking edges turned functionally essential to allow the big shows we have now now — you would not need 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.

Probably the most we will do, I might 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 might be completely satisfied if I might get an iPhone 17 or 18 with an angled lip, which might shield my cellphone whereas nonetheless letting me swipe easily between apps. A person can dream, I suppose. There’s simply not a lot likelihood of preventing the tide at this stage.

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