Curved phone screens are actually good — and they’re getting better

Curved phone screens are actually good — and they're getting better

Xiaomi Mi xi (Image credit: Tom'southward Guide)

Curved smartphone displays are non the big selling point that they were just one-half a decade agone. In fact, they rapidly became a controversial feature on phones, and their mere presence can hands turn a potential customer away from buying a phone. I still quite like them, however.

It would be wrong to pretend that curved screens oasis't had some poor implementations since the first Samsung Milky way Notation Edge appeared. Still, I remember that there are still benefits to curved screens that make keeping them around worthwhile. Plus, recent curved screen phones have given me hope that they're finally getting proficient.

Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra review: The all-time Android phone all the same
These are the best phones you can buy right at present
Plus: Samsung Galaxy A52 video leak should take the Pixel 4a 5G scared

The good

My main reason for liking curved screens isn't based on some mechanical insight — I only think they look squeamish. Dazzler is subjective, but I, in full general, like the await of a curved display compared to a flat one. Some apartment phones, like the iPhone 12, can brand apartment sides look skilful, but a phone like the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra with a curved front and dorsum, and minimal side rails, looks even better.

At that place's more to it than just aesthetics. A curved display reduces the effective depth of a phone when you hold it, making information technology easier to tap buttons or keyboard keys with your thumbs, particularly on a vi.v-inch or larger handset. If y'all're lucky enough to get a quad-curved display, such every bit the one on the Xiaomi Mi 11 or Huawei P40 Pro, yous get to appreciate this when holding the telephone horizontally, too, equally many of us do frequently to play games or scout videos.

curved phone displays: Huawei P40 Pro — The quad-curved display of the Huawei P40 Pro. (Paradigm credit: Tom's Guide)

Curved displays as well offer the opportunity for new, unique methods of interaction. The well-nigh mutual one is lighting up the edges of the brandish to show notifications, making them easier to see when far away from the phone or when the handset is upside downward.

For example, the Huawei Mate 40 Pro lets you command the volume by double-tapping either edge, while the aptly-named Motorola Edge allowed yous to summon the notification shade, a list of recent apps or admission virtual shoulder buttons when gaming with its squared-off display.

The bad

There is such a thing as as well curved though. We plant the OnePlus eight Pro'due south curved edges to be very prone to accidental touches, while the "Horizon Display" on 2019's Huawei Mate 30 Pro was so curved it's hard to come across both edges at once. Not particularly convenient when you're trying to have a photo and end up cut off the elevation of your subject because you can't see where information technology is.

curved phone displays: OnePlus 8 Pro — The OnePlus 8 Pro, a phone with a curved screen that's more than trouble than information technology'south worth. (Image credit: Tom's Guide)

What also doesn't aid is that any unique functions added to the edges are probably available elsewhere. While accessing them from the edge is quicker and takes fewer taps than performing a chore the normal fashion, information technology's easy to forget if y'all're not used to having an alternate pick. It's something I frequently do despite having tested a wide array of phones with these features.

This just gets worse if your phone has an unfortunate meeting with a hard floor. Curved displays are more fragile than having standard bezels on a phone, plus they're more expensive to supervene upon. If you're worried about this happening, it's non like y'all tin easily stop this from happening with a screen protector or case. You'll discover cases and screen covers that fit, but they're much harder to employ and don't offer the same level of protection every bit the normal flat kind.

The hereafter

It's off-white to say looking back on all these factors that curved displays take had a checky history. However, I think this twelvemonth may be the start of a renaissance for these arching displays.

curved phone displays: Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra review — The Galaxy S21 Ultra with its curved display (Image credit: Future)

In that location have been a few major curved phones released already this year, like the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra and Xiaomi Mi 11, with more rumored to come. Moreover, what Samsung and Xiaomi accept done is scale back the angles so that the curve hides the bezel rather than adds new control surfaces. Plus, improving accidental affect sensor tech ways phones are getting better at recognizing and ignoring the incorrect touches that are so rankling to users.

This feels like a suitable compromise betwixt those who like curved screens and want them to develop, and those who much prefer the practicalities of a flat screen. While I miss the gimmicky controls, this feels similar a more sustainable way to include curved displays on phones. That is until foldables phones become mainstream and change everything upwardly again.

More: Google stock-still the worst thing nigh Gmail — and information technology'south hitting Android beginning

Richard is a Tom's Guide staff writer based in London, roofing news, reviews and how-tos for phones, gaming, audio and whatsoever else people need advice on. Following on from his MA in Mag Journalism at the University of Sheffield, he's likewise written for WIRED U.1000., The Annals and Creative Bloq. When not at work, he's probable thinking about how to brew the perfect cup of specialty java.