Other Galaxy S8s
Bezels; those ugly unusable spaces on the sides, bottom and top of otherwise beautiful smartphone are scars on a beautiful skin. It is for this reason that today’s mobile innovation is predicated on bezel-less technology.
Samsung Galaxy S8 is probably not John the Baptist, the forerunner of bezel-less innovation but surely is the poetic line in the story. After the launch of Samsung Galaxy S8 back in March, other mobile manufacturers including Apple have ushered in their versions of phones with displays that run the entire length and breadth of the handset.
If truth has to be told, bezel-less technology took too long to show up on the mobile scene. Two premises stand out to support such argument: it is not cheap. Companies required fat budgets for research and development. Because Apple and Samsung do not suffer from flat wallet malady; the other manufacturers were watching from the anthill for the two to spend on R & D and at the earliest opportunity join in and share the profit loot.
What I have just described is no science fiction; it is the reality in the mobile phone arena. Smaller players wait for the sharks to explore the waters and when the sea is calm, the smaller fishes jump unto deeper waters and scavenge for the leftovers from the prey.
I just said two premises; number two: bezel-less technology is like a small wonderful baby; it can be a disruption to life. The technology as wonderful as it may seem, can make handling of the phone some tricky business. The software must be intelligent enough to differentiate whether you are simply handling the phone or you are tapping on its sides. Firmware must distinguish the seemingly same actions.
The good news is that software is never perfect; otherwise, why is it delivered in versions?
That said, the waters are no calmer and small fishes, the bonyas of this tech world are crawling the sea to pick up the profits.
Elephone S8 has bezel-less edges on three sides and has a bezel at the bottom of the 6-inch screen. For a start, Elephone S8 has a beautiful name with parts ‘stolen’ from iPhone 8 and Samsung Galaxy S8. It packs 4 GB RAM and 128 GB ROM and is a 4G phablet. It battery has some generous juice; 4000 mAh. And all that just for $238.99 (170,000)
Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 was released in September 2017. Except for the minimal bezel at the bottom of the 5.99-inches display it is as bezel-less as Samsung Galaxy S8 or iPhone X. The Screen is covered with Corning Gorilla Glass 4.
It packages 6G RAM and when it comes to storage, it is an iPhone; no expansion storage. You can opt for 64 GB, 128 GB or 256 GB storage. It graces Bluetooth 5. The battery is 600 mAh shy of Elephone S8. And is not cheap; $713 for 256 GB, $609 for $128 and $529 for 64 GB version respectively.
One more thing; bezels are a necessary evil. They protect the glass touch screen from breaking after a brutal fall. Thankfully, Bezel-less phone worth the name are covered with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 which can withstand an accidental fall up to 1.6 metres. Now, you know.
A vibrant writer who gives a great insight on hot topics and issues
