Bezels didn't suck until Samsuck and crApple told you they did.

[Subhasish 1]

This is the mother of all scams. I hate Apple even more because despite me not being a Apple user, they destroyed smartphone for me. I feel pity for the homo sapiens sheep who followed the herd that 'bezels are bad' and sacrificed convenience, safety of scree, front camera flash, IR blasters, front stereo speakers, nice comfortable menu buttons on bezels...everything to toe the line of bully corporates. In return they got an ugly screen with a notch as if the led in a portion of the screen is destroyed. If there was ever any doubt about collective stupidity of humans, this should have put it to rest.
I just hope that someday , some maverick phone company(Xiaomi , can you please step up?); boldly advertises a phone with bold bezels with best in class front camera with flash, proximity sensors, front speakers, bold menu buttons on bezel freeing the skin. Until then I'm trying very hard postponing my next phone buy, just replacing the battery every one and a half years of my old phone. It's really hard..please some company step up.

 

[Subhasish 1]

I think consumers followed the lead of the 'phone critics' , who are i8n turn paid by the corporates to create a hype for their next feature even in expense of trashing a perfectly good thing.

 

[anon(10274434)]

I'm too busy enjoying my phones to waste time complaining about bezels. If you don't like the bezels - don't buy the phone - I think Bezel and Baby start with the same letter for a reason.

 

[lcs101]

I think consumers followed the lead of the 'phone critics' , who are i8n turn paid by the corporates to create a hype for their next feature even in expense of trashing a perfectly good thing.

Just another person on a forum who thinks he or she knows what others are thinking. What's new...

 

[jamezr]

Thank you OP for this very informative thread and thread title. Could not have survived the day with reading it..... my life is now complete.

 

[anon(41073)]

The future is no bezels. It's the way it is. All screen with cameras hidden under them just like finger prints are under right now. It's where the advancement in technology is going. Has nothing to do with breaking and more sale. Put a case on the phone and it won't matter if it had a bezel or not.

Things evolve. It is just how the world turns. Phones not going to have bezels for long. Google is just last in that department.

Yay for bezels and manual transmissions.<sarcasm>

 

[dsignori]

Just another person on a forum who thinks he or she knows what others are thinking. What's new...

Well, I don't know. There's a bit of hyperbole by the OP but still... Do you NOT think the folks are at all influenced by what reviewers and critics write at all? I happen to agree that there is a phenomena where once something is written enough, it is perceived to be true by many people, even if it isn't. I happen to remember a certain Pixel 2 XL burn-in that was taken as gospel (I still have my 2 XL and there is no burn in), and I can name a dozen other examples.

While I'm not advocating one way or the other about bezels (I happen to not care at all personally), I'm just saying that it's quite possible that people's opinions are in fact influenced by incessant complaints or negative reviews of "large" bezels.

For me, I'm excited for the 4 XL. Bring it on!

 

[Golurk]

This is the mother of all scams. I hate Apple even more because despite me not being a Apple user, they destroyed smartphone for me. I feel pity for the homo sapiens sheep who followed the herd that 'bezels are bad' and sacrificed convenience, safety of scree, front camera flash, IR blasters, front stereo speakers, nice comfortable menu buttons on bezels...everything to toe the line of bully corporates. In return they got an ugly screen with a notch as if the led in a portion of the screen is destroyed. If there was ever any doubt about collective stupidity of humans, this should have put it to rest.

If you really hate modern phone designs you could always buy a case. Protective cases often have the effect of adding bezels to your phone. I would say dismissing a large proportion of mobile phone buyers and users here is wrong and small-minded.

“Bezels protect the screen” - To a degree. An even better way to protect your screen is to use a case and screen protector.

“Bezels are convenient” - Having tried using an iPhone 7 Plus and a Pocophone F1, the latter is far easier to use. You complete most actions (e.g texts) by using the phone’s screen...having thick bezels just gets in the way.

Phones like the S9 Plus, XS, P30 Pro etc all have slim bezel/no bezel designs and look brilliant, are easy to use and are immensely popular. Makes me think that you’re in the minority here.

 

[slave]

Thank you OP for this very informative thread and thread title. Could not have survived the day with reading it..... my life is now complete.

LOL! You're welcome? Hey man, I am just telling it like I see it.

Contrary to what people think is true, the screen is not, in fact, the most used part of the phone. The screen is pressed to make the phone work, but the most used art of any handheld device, is the portion of it that is used to hold it.

That part may not be the most useful, like with a handgun, the barrel and trigger are the most useful parts, but the grip is the most used part.

I was sitting arond , reading all the had wringing and hatred toward bezels, when not 18 months ago, bezels were great, as the curved edge phones and slim bezel phones were causing too many accidental touches.

Fast forward, that pixel 4 HAS THE THICCEST MOST CRAY CRAY BEEZLEZ EVAR!!!11one11!!

So, I made the post. I am glad you enjoyed it.

 

[Tim1954]

Chuckle! I'm reading this on a cat S60 phone. It has a good half inch bezel on the sides and closer to an inch top and bottom! It's a tough mother, been dropped, dunked in creeks and tossed onto random surfaces with no ill effect.
Shame about the basic and very limited software (Marshmallow) version..
Battery goes for a couple of days usually...

 

[Mooncatt]

Chuckle! I'm reading this on a cat S60 phone. It has a good half inch bezel on the sides and closer to an inch top and bottom! It's a tough mother, been dropped, dunked in creeks and tossed onto random surfaces with no ill effect.
Shame about the basic and very limited software (Marshmallow) version..
Battery goes for a couple of days usually...

The CAT S60? I'd love one of their phones for the infrared camera, but it does seem the rest of their specs are lacking in performance.

 

[anon(50597)]

I think it was consumers who pushed for larger screens. Thus they have improved screen real estate without compromising overall size.
It’s not a conspiracy theory.

 

[Golurk]

I think it was consumers who pushed for larger screens. Thus they have improved screen real estate without compromising overall size.
It’s not a conspiracy theory.

I completely agree!

Consumers pushed for larger screens, but manufacturers realised that if they increased screen size without changing the aspect ratio and bezel size, the phone would be far too big and unwieldy to handle. So bezels had to get smaller or go altogether.

Sure, bezels had some benefits but they are vastly outweighed by the benefits of a slim bezel/all screen design. Again, if you want to complete basic actions on a phone (like texting, calling, browsing etc) you need to use the screen, not the bezel.

 

[Almeuit]

Cleaned up some posts. Let's stick to the topic versus each other.

 

[EMGSM]

The notch on the P3XL didn't bother me one bit. So I'm pretty sure the bezels won't bother me as long as they are not too big.

 

[lcs101]

Cleaned up some posts. Let's stick to the topic versus each other.

You mean like the OP starting off by referring to those who like slim bezels as "sheeple" (who were simply "hoodwinked)? I'd say that kind of set the tone...

 

[Almeuit]

You mean like the OP starting off by referring to those who like slim bezels as "sheeple" (who were simply "hoodwinked)? I'd say that kind of set the tone...

Hence me not calling anyone specific out and doing a general warning for all

 

[Golfdriver97]

While I agree with the idea of vote with your wallet, it is getting harder to do it. The lack of bezel, if that is important to someone, is taking off so rapidly that feasible options may be quite limited when it comes time to upgrade.

 

[Mooncatt]

While I agree with the idea of vote with your wallet, it is getting harder to do it. The lack of bezel, if that is important to someone, is taking off so rapidly that feasible options may be quite limited when it comes time to upgrade.

Very true, and the options that are available may be undesirable in other ways. Android use to have a lot of different options, but now it's all become cookie cutter mainstream, or fringe (I.e. One or two cool niche features in an otherwise lackluster phone).

I do agree we played a part in it by wanting smaller bezels, but the manufacturers took that to mean remove all possible non-screen areas (curved/edge screens aren't enough, now some have a rear screen as well). Now consumers are saying they need to reign in some and at least give us something to hold on to without unwanted touches. The manufacturers have turned this into something like the megapixels was with cameras. More isn't always better, and can even hurt the final result.

 

[me just saying]

I never really paid much attention to the bezel. For me it did not matter one way or another. As far as the notch, I don't think I would have care one way or another either if I had a phone with one on it. and now I have a phone with a camera hole. I don't even notice it most of the time. I don't think most users cared either.

IMO, a lot of the hype was a combination of companies trying to sell the notch or camera hole and trolls just causing problems. Yea, some was honest about their feelings but not most.