Goodbye, Bezels; Hello, Giant Screens
Sharp’s Aquos Crystal, released in 2014, was the first smartphone with a “bezel-less” display, though the meaning of that term has changed since then. That phone’s screen flowed to the very right, left, and top edges of the devices, but a large chin underneath remained, housing the front-facing camera and microphones. Shortly thereafter arrived the Samsung Galaxy Note Edge, though it had both a chin (for the power button) and a tophat for the front-facing camera.
Since then, phone makers have done away with home buttons and extended the screen to all four edges, creating virtually bezel-free phones. Front-facing cameras are now housed in a notch or hole-punched in the display, while fingerprint sensors are now hidden beneath the screen and touch gestures have replaced button operation.
