Pricey smartphone makers, please cease w...

If you happen to choose 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 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 yow will discover something completely different is by purchasing for funds fashions. As soon as the 2025 iPhone SE rolls round, you will not have a selection in any respect if you’d like a brand new mannequin based mostly on Apple’s platform.

For a lot of of you, bezels are most likely a minor challenge, and I get that. However personally talking, some current 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 Digicam 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 am unable to rely what number of instances 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 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 somewhat ironic, as a result of early on, some iPhone 16 house owners 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 not less than partly accountable, if not fully. They’re even thinner than on the 15 Professional, leaving nearly nowhere in 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 circumstances, eliminating bezels usually makes a case necessary, particularly for units with curved edges. It is like they’re designed to crack on the sidewalk. That in itself would not be a giant deal — you could defend a $400-plus cellular gadget 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 just some years in the past that was a uncommon drawback, not less than 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 on the subject of the sturdiness and value of a cellphone. So is there any probability 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 the direction of bezel-less telephones has been underway for effectively over a decade — what was as soon as a gimmick (totally on Samsung units) is now the default. There’s most likely 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 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 couple of cents per cellphone, however that provides up once you’re delivery thousands and thousands of models 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 customers are subconsciously primed for it. Furthermore, shrinking edges grew to become functionally essential to allow the big shows we have now 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 could be out of the query.

Essentially the most we are able to do, I might 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 might be pleased 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 preventing the tide at this stage.

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