Samsung could put iPhone X to shame with completely bezel-free smartphone

SAMSUNG has invented a way to fill the entire front of a smartphone with display, putting pressure on Apple to do the same.

The neat design trick would allow Samsung to completely kill off handset bezels – the ugly border that surrounds your phone's display.

Getty - Contributor

Apple came under fire over the "ugly" notch that sits at the top of the screen

Apple tried to produce an all-screen phone with last year's iPhone X, but didn't quite manage it.

The tech giant was forced to include a small "notch" that juts out from the top of the screen, which houses a camera and other sensors.

Samsung's Galaxy S8, also launched last year, failed to achieve the feat too, instead arriving with a slim – but still visible – bezel.

Users slammed that iPhone notch as "ugly", but were generally kinder to Samsung's more traditional bezel.

Reuters

Even high-end Samsung phones need to have a slim screen border to house vital components

WIPO

Samsung's new patent shows a concept device with zero bezel

But future Samsung phones might feature a brand new design that fixes the problem completely.

A Samsung patent – first spotted by LetsGoDigital – reveals that the company has designed a way to embed sensors underneath the screen.

The camera would peek out through a tiny hole near the very top of the display, meaning that the screen would be mostly uninterrupted.

This would allow Samsung to bring the display right to the four edges of the phone, avoiding a bezel or notch completely.

PA:Press Association

Slimming down – or removing – the bezel would make it possible to introduce an even bigger display panel

Expert analyst Imran Choudhary told The Sun that this patent would "allow Samsung to push the boundaries" of smartphone screen design.

Choudhary, who works as Director of Technology at GfK, also admitted that phone fans have an "appetite for edge-to-edge screens".

He says that it's worth Samsung trying to put this new design into practice, because the iPhone X notch had a "mixed reaction".

"Any such design shouldn't compromise on the features and user experience consumers have come to now expect."

Sadly, there's no telling when – or even if – Samsung will ever use the design described in the patent.

While patents give us some idea of what tech firms are working on, they don't guarantee that the tech will be rolled out to customers.

Still, we're hoping the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S9 has something new to offer gadget fans when it launches at MWC 2018 in February.

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