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Differentiating Smartphones w/o Using a Foldable Display
May 27, 2019 As smartphones have matured over the past several years, phone makers have increasingly struggled to differentiate and, ultimately, innovate. This pressure to break new ground has made it clear some companies are putting their reputation on the line in the fight to be first, as the race to enter the foldable phone form factor continues unabated. As manufacturers battle over completely new form factors, there are smaller iterations in the existing mobile phone layout — in terms of camera quality and quantity, bezel reduction, and even fingerprint reader placement. It’s against this backdrop that Huawei sub-brand Honor details of its forthcoming series 20 smartphone launch, which will constitute three phones: the Honor 20 Lite, the Honor 20, and the Honor 20 Pro. The Lite will be unveiled in London on May 21. At a price of $325. The Honor 20 and Pro will each have a 6.26-inch “all-view” display and sport a 91.6% screen-to-body ratio and a 4.5mm punch-hole selfie camera. |
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The phone’s fingerprint sensor will be positioned on the right-hand edge of the frame to “complement the natural placement of fingers when one picks up a phone.” Historically, fingerprint readers have been placed either on the front bezel or the back of the phone. But with phone makers working to increase screen real estate while keeping the biometric ID system in line of sight, last year ushered in smartphones with fingerprint scanners embedded directly into the display. Chinese smartphone company Vivo was among the first to launch a device with in-screen fingerprint smarts and was joined by the likes of OnePlusand Honor with the View20. Side-mounted fingerprint readers are not a completely new concept. Sony offered this design with the Xperia Z5 back in 2015, while other companies — including ZTE, Nextbit, Meizu, Samsung, Razer, and Honor — have introduced devices with similar biometric scanner positioning. But the Honor 20 and Pro launch represents part of a broader trend across the smartphone landscape as OEMs try to figure out the optimal position for various functions and features. Bezel-less designs created the nozzle, which companies are now increasingly pushing against with a little embedded pinhole camera. But that too has its critics, given the blemish it creates on the display, and sliders are reappearing, alongside devices with
Last month, Samsung unveiled the Galaxy A80, which features a slide-up rotating camera that doubles as the front- and rear-facing shooter — it swivels around to face the front when the slider is activated. No notches, and no annoying cutouts.
Figure 1: Samsung Galaxy A80: Slide and Rotate
Last month, Samsung unveiled the Galaxy A80, which features a slide-up rotating camera that doubles as the front- and rear-facing shooter — it swivels around to face the front when the slider is activated. No notches, and no annoying cutouts.
Figure 1: Samsung Galaxy A80: Slide and Rotate
Source: Company
Samsung wasn’t the first company to bring a rotating mobile phone camera like this to market — OPPO released its N1 device back in 2013 with a similar design. But the Galaxy A80 brings the promise of triple-lens, high-quality smartphone photography to the mainstream — for selfies, landscapes, and everything in between.
Huawei’s Honor 20 and Honor 20 Pro are a culmination of recent iterations and developments in smartphone technology. The company is expected to deliver AI-infused software, a high-megapixel camera, and a quadruple lens setup. Putting a fingerprint reader on the side isn’t innovative in itself, but combined with all the other developments, it perhaps brings us a little closer to the optimal phone design. From: Venture Beat
Samsung wasn’t the first company to bring a rotating mobile phone camera like this to market — OPPO released its N1 device back in 2013 with a similar design. But the Galaxy A80 brings the promise of triple-lens, high-quality smartphone photography to the mainstream — for selfies, landscapes, and everything in between.
Huawei’s Honor 20 and Honor 20 Pro are a culmination of recent iterations and developments in smartphone technology. The company is expected to deliver AI-infused software, a high-megapixel camera, and a quadruple lens setup. Putting a fingerprint reader on the side isn’t innovative in itself, but combined with all the other developments, it perhaps brings us a little closer to the optimal phone design. From: Venture Beat
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