Sharp and the Essential Phone, which essentially pioneered the top bezel protrusion we started calling a notch since Apple introduced a giant one in the iPhone X, went about it in a subtle way. Their top thingies only house the selfie camera and are very minimalistic. Apple, however, opened the copycat floodgates and companies like Huawei or LG went to town on their top bezels to achieve the same "all-screen" effect, while others like Samsung or Sony, stuck to their guns.
Still, phone makers are trying to solve the notch-or-not conundrum in pretty inventive ways these days, starting with intriguing pop-up or slide-out camera design, and culminating with the "all-screen" slider Mi Mix 3 that was just announced yesterday.
What's a manufacturer that doesn't want to go the slider way to do, though? Even the smallest, "dewdrop" notch, however, still connects with the top bezel, and sliders have their own set of reliability, waterproofing, and case-wrapping issues, so a new paradigm is now forming. Samsung, Huawei and Apple have all now patented approaches that may do away with the whole bezel peninsula or slider concepts, and take the drill bit to the display directly.
Brace yourselves, the screen piercings are coming!
Yes, there is now even a phone nearing release that is rumored to pioneer the hole-in-display concept for fitting the tiny front camera sensor there, thinning the top bezel to the extreme in the process. That handset is the eventual Galaxy A8s that Samsung teased at the end of an event recently. It is supposed to have the selfie cam in the display itself and may be a harbinger of things to come with the Galaxy S10, as Samsung recently started introducing flagship features in its midrangers to gauge acceptance and increase their appeal.
Claimed Galaxy A8s screen protector
Today, an alleged screen protector leak for the Galaxy A8s has surfaced, and it sort of confirms the hole-in-the-screen speculation. As you can see, it has a small opening in the top middle, where the eventual front camera is slated to be, which isn't continuing towards the top, meaning that there could still be display area on top of it.
We can't wait to see how this design will be applied in practice, and what screen-to-body ratios it will be able to achieve in the never-ending quest towards an "all-screen," "bezel-less," or whatever you name it, phone. You have yourselves expressed a preference for such a design, as well as for sliders, which might mean that the good ol' notch's days may be numbered.
Would you prefer a screen hole for the front camera instead of a notch?
Daniel, a devoted tech writer at PhoneArena since 2010, has been engrossed in mobile technology since the Windows Mobile era. His expertise spans mobile hardware, software, and carrier networks, and he's keenly interested in the future of digital health, car connectivity, and 5G. Beyond his professional pursuits, Daniel finds balance in travel, reading, and exploring new tech innovations, while contemplating the ethical and privacy implications of our digital future.
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