I remember a time when I didn’t know – or care – what a bezel was. Now, thanks to the efforts of Chinese smartphone manufacturers, I may be able to forget about this component all together. (If you don’t already know, it’s the metal or plastic bit that surrounds a screen.) A slew of new devices have appeared this month – some leaked, some released officially – all showing companies doing their best to erase the bezel. It’s one of the latest trends in smartphone design and has already made its way to the US in the form of the $239 Sharp Aquos Crystal and its infinity pool-like display. Looking at these devices it seems we’ll be seeing a lot less edge in future.
I’m quite pleased about the bezel disappearing. The bezel is an irrelevant, useless part of displays, and it can be shaved off and removed.
Until you drop the phone and it lands on any of its edges – either denting a bezel or shattering the glass instantly depending on whether you have a bezel…
I used to have a wm6 smartphone where the screen was recessed inside the bezel slightly. To break that screen you’d basically have to stab it.
Not only is it more prone to damage, I think a phone with bezel is simply more visually pleasing than one without. There’s a reason I have borders around my windows: it separates more clearly from the background.
Furthermore, when I hold my phone, a part of my skin covers the edges. Right now, that’s the 2mm bezel so there is no accidental touching and no accidental hiding of screen content.
Edited 2015-03-26 15:50 UTC
It is more useful to have bezel-less monitor especially the 4k ones.
http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/acer-details-4k-monitor-with…
Too bad this one still have bezel at the bottom.
At the moment, any consumer display with “no bezel” has a 6mm black area outside of the panel, so there’s still a prominent gap, even if the casing is only 1mm. It’s an improvement, but we’re still far from edge-to-edge displays.
(The screen I have http://www.scan.co.uk/products/238-dell-u2414h-ips-led-monitor-ultr… )
I don’t want my grip to get detected by the sensor. And I like some good edge protection against dropping. But it doesn’t have to be much.
Although it looks pretty nice, i think it would be rather easy to crack/break the screen if you dropped it.
Then they should make better screens which are more shock resistant.
You mean like those with a bezel?
I’m all for unbreakable, but in order for that to be possible, there has to be some material to absorb the shock. There is a reason why a lotus elise isn’t used as a money transport vehicle.
Running the glass up to the edge means it is liable to break. Once the surface tension is relieved through something like a chip out of the corner, the glass becomes brittle and liable to crack, if it hasn’t already instantly cracked.
Funnily enough about 99% of iPhones seem to be put in butt ugly cases to protect that delicate glass and thin metal bezel.
Yeah, especially with the current trend of using larger screens.
It’s not only the issue of breaking when they fall, but also to avoid bending/snapping. Once you remove the bezel you have a wide thin glass slab that will break if you are just less than careful when it’s in your pocket.
Of course, Apple, Samsung et al just hadn’t thought of removing the bezel. It’s not like the bezel can actually be useful for anything.
Of course, we are also talking about a company that has long been accused of putting form over function here (Apple).
(a bit or sarcasm there in case anyone was wondering)
I’m reminded of the ‘slim’ pillars on modern cars. It is only when you are up close you see that 5-10cm of the window has been blacked out to hide that nasty thick pillar.
No bezel, sure, but don’t forget to include some form of ‘virtual bezel’ touch rejection around the edges. Today’s ubiquitous thin, oversized, narrow-bezel formfactor is bad enough for accidentally registering the thumbs and fingers holding the phone.