In the world of flagship smartphones, there seems to be one clear trend: bigger is better.
There is also growing demand for thinner phones with diminishingbezels(the area surrounding a screen).
This trend has now culminated in the latest innovation in smartphone design, thefoldable screen phone.
These devices sport thinOLEDself-illuminating screens that can be folded in half.
This presents some interesting engineering challenges, as well as some innovative solutions.
It’s free, every week, in your inbox.
Why do we love large phones?
Folding displays are a new category that exploits the flexibility of OLED display panels.
[Read:Are EVs too expensive?
For instance, how long will the hinge last?
How many times can it befolded and unfoldedbefore it malfunctions?
Will dirt or dust make its way into the assembly during daily use and affect the screen?
Such devices need an added layer of reliability over traditional slab-like phones, which have no moving parts.
Large screen, thin phone: a recipe for disaster?
This leads to a higher chance ofdropping the gear a blunder even the best of us have made.
Theres an ongoing tussle between consumers and manufacturers.
Consumers want a large, viewable surface as well as an easily portable and rugged rig.
But from an engineering point of view, these are usually competing requirements.
Youll often see people in smartphone ads holding the gadget with two hands.
In real life, however, most people use their phone withonehand.
All are placed to minimize visual intrusion.
But they take up valuable space.
The Samsun Galaxy Note 10 has a centered punch hole front-facing camera.
Samsung
But another fantastic place for sensors is right in front of us: the screen.
Or more specifically, under the screen.
Samsung is one company that has suggested placing selfie-cameras and fingerprint readers behind the screen.
But how do you capture a photo or a face image through a layer of screen?
Up until recently, this has been put in the too hard basket.
But that is changing: Xiaomi, Huawei, andSamsungall have patents forunder-display cameras.
One driver for this is the professional market, where larger mobile devices allow more efficient on-the-go business transactions.
The second market is individuals whoonlyhave a mobile deviceand no laptop or desktop computer.
Its all about choice, but also the functionality.
This article is republished fromThe ConversationbyAndrew Maxwell, Senior Lecturer,University of Southern Queenslandunder a Creative Commons license.
