Expensive 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 likely be tiny or non-existent. Saying the design trait is all the craze can be an understatement, as the one manner you could find something completely different is by purchasing for price range fashions. As soon as the 2025 iPhone SE rolls round, you will not have a alternative in any respect in order for you a brand new mannequin based mostly on Apple’s platform.

For a lot of of you, bezels are in all probability a minor situation, 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 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 largest 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 mistaken manner. At this level, I can not rely what number of instances 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 instances, 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 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 once I knew my fingers had been solely near the display screen, not on it. I made it some extent to concentrate once 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 accountable, if not solely. They’re even thinner than on the 15 Professional, leaving nearly nowhere to your fingers to relaxation in order for you 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 instances, 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 an enormous deal — it’s worthwhile to defend a $400-plus cellular system regardless — however cellphone makers additionally appear to disregard how instances and touchscreens work together. As of late, 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 drawback, no less than in my expertise. Relying on the apps you utilize each day, you may end up more and more irritated.

Just a few millimeters of bezel could make a world of distinction in terms of 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 highway

I really feel like I am shouting within the wilderness, sadly. The development in direction of bezel-less telephones has been underway for effectively over a decade — what was as soon as a gimmick (totally on Samsung gadgets) is now the default. There’s in all probability 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 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 could be a number of cents per cellphone, however that provides up once you’re transport hundreds of thousands of items and want to ascertain 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 now have now — you would not desire a 6.3-inch display screen in your pocket if it had bezels as thick as the unique iPhone. Trendy folding designs can be out of the query.

Probably 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 blissful 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 likelihood of combating the tide at this stage.

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