A phone with a 100% screen has some benefits, but practical and practical concerns can outweigh those benefits.
Most of the time we spend on our smartphones, of course, we spend on the screen. It is, after all, the primary point of interaction and feedback on modern mobile devices. Despite its importance, the screen actually covers less than half of the phone’s surface, which some might consider a waste of space. Unsurprisingly, phone makers have been trying to devise ways to take advantage of all the places you can fit a screen on a phone, and Motorola’s patent reveals how this unusually beautiful design could actually become useful.
Designer: Parviz Khan (Technizo concept) for LetsGoDigital
Phones with wrap-around screens that leave almost nothing exposed are right there with foldable phones, transparent screens, and holograms that spark people’s imaginations. Given how small phones compare to laptops or even tablets, it’s understandable that manufacturers and consumers will want to take advantage of every bit of real estate available on a pocketable device. Motorola wasn’t the first to try it, but it’s one of the few companies that have gone the extra mile and explain why you’d want a full screen phone.
Flexibility is the name of the game for a phone as there is practically no front or back. No matter how you take it out of your pocket or your back, that side facing you will always be in front, and the software will adjust the on-screen elements to match. You may not even have to pull out the phone completely, as long as you can see a small part of the screen. Again, the program can adjust UI elements, so you can instantly see who’s calling and swipe to decline or accept the call, even if only the “lower” part of the phone is visible from your pocket.
Such a phone with a wraparound screen has to do more work than most phones to pull this off. First, you’ll need to use a variety of sensors to determine which direction the phone is facing in the pocket. The software running on the phone must be particularly dynamic, as it needs to change the UI elements to match the position and orientation of the phone. There are no volume controls, for example, and the phone will have to know which side to put it on depending on how the person is holding it.
That might be easier to pull off than resolve some of the usability and ergonomics concerns that a full screen phone might offer. Phones with screens that curve to the sides are sometimes criticized for accidental palm-to-finger flicks. A full screen phone may not have room for cameras either, and the current state of the under-screen cameras still leaves a lot to be desired. Then there’s the issue that dropping the phone on either side can actually damage the screen, removing results from its repairability and sustainability.
