Galaxy Note 9 Could Beat iPhone X With This

Samsung might have found a way to remove the unsightly notch and bezels around its screen to deliver what could be a far more appealing visual experience in this year's Galaxy Note 9.

Credit: Tom's Guide

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

The folks over at Let's Go Digital discovered a patent Samsung filed with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) that shows a smartphone with no notch and no bezels. But like those handsets that come with those features, the Galaxy Note 9 still offers an earpiece, microphone, and front-facing cameras.

According to Let's Go Digital, the patent describes how Samsung could effectively cut holes in the screen and place components behind it that would utilize those holes. The screen would come with a hole for the earpiece, for instance, or one that would support a front-facing physical fingerprint sensor. All around, the handset would be covered by its display.

Credit: LetsGoDigital

(Image credit: LetsGoDigital)

Apple's iPhone X has what some may consider a controversial design. The device eliminates bezels around the screen to put content front and center, but has an unsightly notch at the top where its earpiece and front-facing camera is placed. The notch doesn't stretch across the display, but it distracts from the broader user experience.

MORE: Galaxy S9 Leaked Specs: Here's What to Expect

Samsung also offers bezels above and below the screen in its Galaxy S8 line and the Galaxy Note 8 that are similarly used to house components. But these areas don't swoop down into or interrupt the display.

Samsung's patent suggests that there's an evolution going on in smartphone design and the iPhone X, Galaxy S8, and Galaxy Note 8 are an interim stop towards a smartphone that has a face entirely covered by a screen.

Looking ahead, it's possible that the technology described in the patent could make its way to the Galaxy Note 9. But it's also worth noting that like other big companies, Samsung files for patents all the time. And it's possible this one will never find its way to a device.

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Don Reisinger is CEO and founder of D2 Tech Agency. A communications strategist, consultant, and copywriter, Don has also written for many leading technology and business publications including CNET, Fortune Magazine, The New York Times, Forbes, Computerworld, Digital Trends, TechCrunch and Slashgear. He has also written for Tom's Guide for many years, contributing hundreds of articles on everything from phones to games to streaming and smart home.

  • leigh.mcbain
    I find it ridiculous that all this time and effort is put into something like removing a bezel instead of making more durable phones with better battery life and a more complete feature sets (processor, RAM, etc). The "new" directions are making the screens more susceptible to breakage and making them more expensive to replace when they break - far less than a desirable result. We the consumer are partly to blame, because we get way too hung up on "pretty" but the end result is NOT actually beneficial in any way other than the aesthetics novelty, which only lasts for the first 30 days or so and then it wears off or the phone gets scratched or broken or whatever. Put a case on these new phones and you don't know whether it has a bezel or not anymore anyway.
    Reply
  • hdiep927
    Because then they can't keep selling new ones
    Reply