Samsung definitely wants to be the leader in technological innovation. It has been in several sectors and now aims to remove bezels from its smartphones altogether.
Some of the latest mobile phones that claim to be bezel-less like the iPhone X, Essential Phone, and Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 actually retain a small strip or notch to house a few key components. A new patent from Samsung reveals a completely bezel-free design with what looks like an in-display camera.
Is It Possible?
For now, technological and manufacturing constraints cannot produce a smartphone without any bezels. The importance of an earpiece and front-facing camera requires a compromise when it comes to design.
Apple and Essential settled for a notch on the top portion of the display for the iPhone X and Essential Phone respectively, while Xiaomi retained a small bezel just below the display and housed its front-facing camera in an odd location.
On the other hand, one of the two patents Samsung submitted retains a notch similar to the competition, which is understandable. However, the other one shows a notably remarkable concept of what a bezel-less smartphone should look like.
How Will They Do It?
LetsGoDigital reports that Samsung filed their patent with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in May 2017. It was just recently published and shows exactly how Samsung plans to overcome the current design and technology limitations.
The illustrations included alongside the documents show the necessary components such as the front-facing camera, proximity sensor, ambient light sensor, and earpiece embedded in-display.
Perhaps with the help of some undisclosed manufacturing process, the engineers will be able to make precise cutouts in the display panel to allow all of its user-facing modules to function as intended.
The Fingerprint Sensor Dilemma
Last year, rumors claimed that the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus could launch with an embedded fingerprint reader under its display but ultimately failed to do so.
Earlier this year, during CES 2018, Synaptics finally revealed their Clear ID technology, which Vivo flaunted with the X20 Plus UD smartphone.
Experts suspect that Samsung will most likely source the new components from Synaptics to return its biometric sensors up front just like before.
Preparing For A Showdown
Reducing or removing bezels is an ongoing trend among smartphone manufacturers these days. As much as anyone would hope that the published patent was for the upcoming Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus, it is highly unlikely, according to analysts. Who knows, maybe Samsung has something even better to reveal in time for MWC 2018.
