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This is the Galaxy Note10 and I really like this device.
What I don't like about it is the fact that the screen curves around the edges.
I don't like that. And, because
curved screens appear to be the next
big trend for Android flagships going forward,
I wanted to make a video
just to remind everyone why they are a terrible idea.
And, because I'm in a bit of a mood to rant,
let's actually turn this into a series.
So, welcome to Episode 1 of "Thanks, I hate it".
*INTRO MUSIC PLAYS*
I hate curved screens.
They are dumb, there is nothing practical about them
(apart from making the screen appear as 0.0001mm larger),
and what you get in exchange
is a phone that is worse in so many ways.
Let's start with the eternal wisdom
of YouTube's most famous phone destroyer.
Zack: The glass is glass and glass breaks.
Marton: Hm, sorry, could you, maybe, repeat that?
Zack: The glass is glass, and glass breaks.
Marton: Huh, okay. Umm…
well, thanks, Zack, I think that makes it pretty clear then.
And it means that extending that fragile glass over the edge of the device
(which is where you drop it or bounce it against things)
is maybe not a good idea.
It makes your phone significantly more prone to cracking and scratching.
Now, I already hear some of you saying that, you know, I'm just
complaining about nothing because you can just put cases on phones.
And, I hear you.
I mean, I put a bumper on my Note10,
like I do with almost all devices,
but I strongly disagree with this arguement.
First, there's no way that a phone should be designed
in a way that it can only
meaningfully be used with an extra accessory on top of it.
Like, that is not sensible product design.
And, even if they were, while some of the phones that
have smaller curves, like the Note10 for example,
you can put a somewhat, reasonable case or a bumper on,
that'll be impossible for a lot of the newer phones that are coming out soon.
Take phones like the Mate 30 Pro or
the Vivo Nex 3, for example.
Their screens are curved so far back, at almost
ninety degrees, that cases leave the entire sides
of both of these phones completely exposed.
How dumb is that?
I wouldn't want to let a metal frame on my device
exposed, let alone this curved, fragile glass because
Zack: Glass is glass, and glass breaks.
Whoah. Umm, yeah, exactly.
And, don't get me wrong.
I sell Ungrips, which are designed to keep you from
dropping your phone in the first place,
so for me, it's great If cases stop working
'cause everybody should buy more Ungrips anyway,
but I still find this situation dumb.
Now, another common argument that I keep hearing is that this is
innovation and innovation is good and we just have to let companies
do their thing. And I understand where that argument is coming from.
But I don't actually think this is real innovation.
We've had them on Samsung phones since the Note 4 in 2014.
That was five years ago.
Neither curved OLED screens nor curved glass are particularly
hard to do and they don't really require any innovation in 2019.
The reason we moved away from them is because both Samsung and users
thankfully realized that too much of a curve just isn't practical
causing Samsung to adopt smaller curves like those on the Note10.
And so no, this isn't somehow driving the industry forward.
Unless you think having to double tap to adjust the volume
because it didn't have space what volume buttons is somehow great innovation.
Now, the companies that have brought these devices to market have also argued that
extending the touchscreen to the edge of the device also allows for new innovative features.
Like Edge gestures or shoulder buttons while gaming for example, or phones
reacting to squeezing pressure in the case of Vivo.
But I don't really get that either.
I mean, the frames of our devices, you know, the actual metal frames.
It's quite easy to make those capacitive and touch sensitive.
So if edge features or touch sensitive edges are what you desire,
you don't really need to curve the glass and the fragile display over the device.
The Asus ROG phone and multiple HTC phones have had touch sensitive and
squeezable phone frames for years which by the way,
apparently came from the exact same supplier that also made
Vivo's curved screens squeezable as well.
So, I just don't get it.
And not only do these curved screens not solve any existing usability problems,
they actually create new ones.
Like suddenly big parts of your screen needs to be sort of passive.
First, they have to reject accidental touches which by the way hasn't worked well
on any curved screen phone I've tried,
and is only going to get more problematic as Android is prioritizing edge swiping
gestures for basic navigations like the back button.
increased edge gestures and increased palm rejection zones
will only create more conflicts in the future, not fewer ones in my opinion.
And second, if the screen is curved enough,
suddenly, UI elements on the side start flowing off the screen and the padding
(or the inactive dead space on the side of apps) has to be increased.
Huawei actually has an option so you can turn off the sides
of the screen on an app by app basis to fix this,
meaning that this is an actual issue with some apps and
that just seems like the worst self inflicted wound I've seen in a while.
Also, famous leaker ice universe is predicting that this trend isn't
going to stop, and that phone makers are going to continue to push curves further
and further in the future.
Meaning that we'll see different kinds of devices with different amounts of
dead space on the side of the display that the app
makers for example will have to adopt their apps to.
Just imagine that you make an app. It looks fine on one screen,
and on another the same elements just kind of float off the screen.
Sounds terrible.
And my last complaint is that while curved screens look
impressive in commercials or on display in a shop,
They sometimes look worse when you actually use them.
if I could say when you watch a video or play a game.
Having content be distorted at thetop at the bottom as well as having extra reflections
along the edges just makes things a little less immersive and not more in my opinion.
And so with this many downsides, you might wonder why this five-year-old technology
is suddenly seeing such a big revival. And I can really only see two main reasons.
One, of course phone makers would very much like everyone to have 1000 euro phones that are
super fragile, can barely be protected by cases and screen protectors and are essentially completely
unrepairable by their users. And two, because lately, they also seem to be just
a little too obsessed with screen-to-body ratios
And there isn't much bezel left to get rid of on most smartphones anyway,
so in trying to outdo each other, they have decided that all
that's left to do is to curve those screens. And I get it, I like competition,
I like small bezels, I mean, I have to admit I bought the Note10
at least in part because I thought there was a very pretty device.
But at some point, making devices more and more pretty at the expense of
sacrificing usability and durability is not really innovation or progress, it's actual madness
Now, there is of course, one more device that I have to talk about when it comes to this topic,
there's no way around it
and that is the ludicrous Xiaomi Mi Mix Alpha.
And while I kind of give this one a free pass because at least it's novel, plus
it's obviously more of a concept device than a mainstream phone and I think
manufacturers should be given a free pass to play with crazy things,
I'm afraid of what it signifies.
Typically, concept devices don't make it to mainstream consumers as they are, obviously.
But they do represent an extreme version of what the manufacturer
thinks the future should be like and exists to foreshadow big market trends.
And if these screens with more and more crazy
curvatures are indeed what all of these manufacturers
are pushing for, that I think us as consumers, I think we'll all be worse off for it.
Now whatever device you end up buying, remember to put a TechAltar on grip on it.
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