There are many reasons to be excited about the iPhone 8, including its new size, facial scanning, and fast charging but one of the most radical design changes apparently now won’t happen…
According to a report from MacRumors,
This will be disappointing to many who hoped Apple was primed to follow Samsung’s acclaimed dual curved OLED “Edge’ displays first introduced in 2015 - and result in a far more conventional looking device. Certainly curved OLED displays look superb in marketing shots and add a futuristic aspect as manufacturers chase the new trend of minimizing bezel sizes.
Instead, however, Lam said: “Much like the recently announced LG G6, we anticipate a [flat] touchscreen with a new longer aspect ratio design to take advantage of higher coverage area of the iPhone in its entirety.”
Is Design Loss iPhone 8’s Gain?
For those who hoped the iPhone 8 would take a leaf out of Samsung’s design handbook, however, I’d argue the omission of a curved OLED display might actually turn out to be a good thing - even if it results in a more conventional iPhone design.
2017 Apple iPhone curved display - durability and practicality can be a problem when the edge of a... [+]
For starters, curved displays tend to be a case of style over substance. In practice the curve causes the edges of the user interface to look warped (particularly when playing video) and in-hand the curve can lead to a lot of accidental touch input - especially with the back button often positioned in the top left corner of many apps. Apple would likely have to redesign iOS and include new palm rejection technology to address both these issues.
Even with Apple onboard, app developers would also need to make interface changes and curved displays compromise structural integrity - both with regard to bending and screen damage if the smartphone is dropped. Even cases are not a solution as they cannot cover the side of the device if it is part of the display.
So yes curved OLED displays do look cool, but if this report is correct then iPhone 8 users might actually be better off long term. And long term satisfaction is going to be key given Apple’s new iPhone will be expensive.
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