Many manufacturers today are producing devices with curved displays. They are making televisions and smartphones with screens that have an arc, rather than a flat surface. Is this a marketing ploy, or are there legitimate reasons for this new design feature? Does your next phone need to have a curved screen, or is it truly a passing fad?
Curved screens actually do offer improved features when compared to flat screens. Generally speaking, they improve the clarity of the screen, reduce battery consumption, and increase screen privacy. Lets take a look at eight reasons why a curved screen is beneficial for smartphones.
1. Makes a Mobile Device More Readable in Ambient Light. A curved screen, as compared to a flat screen, does not reflect as well. This reduces glare from reflecting ambient light from behind and around you. A curved screen blocks other light, but it also reflects its own light better than a flat screen. A flat screen projects its own light out and away from the screen. The slight curve in a curved screen actually does reflect its own light, making it more efficient and requiring less light.
2. Improves Battery Life. A curved screen can improve the battery life of your smartphone by reducing screen reflections, which means it needs less brightness. Lowering the brightness on your screen equates to less power consumption.
3. Easier to Read. The curve slightly magnifies the screen, making it appear larger. The magnification is slight, but when you are looking at a small screen that is only about five inches, a small improvement can be a big deal.
4. Fits You Better. A curved screen on a smartphone forms a better fit to the side of your face, which makes speaking into it as it rests against your head more comfortable. A curved screen also fits in your hand better, forming to the natural curvature of your hand.
5. Can Fit a Larger Screen in a Shorter Width. Because the surface area of a curve is greater than that of a flat surface, manufacturers can fit a wider screen in the same or smaller overall width of the device.
6. Improves Privacy. Privacy is improved because the curvature makes it harder for other people to see the screen. The screen curve blocks vision from the side, and the improved reflection doesn’t broadcast the images on your screen to people near you.
7. Face Magnification Reduces Screen Reflections. This is crazy but simple. Hold your cell phone up with it turned off and see your reflection in the screen. Around your reflection is the ambient light from behind you, making that area difficult to see. The curved screen magnifies the reflection of your face, removing the area around your face from being seen on the screen. This makes the screen easier too see due to less reflection.
8. Essentially Unbreakable Screen. Because the screen is curved, it is more difficult to drop it on a single point of impact. The curve deflects the force of impact.
Only time will tell if curved screens are simply a fad for smartphones. But there are real and valid reasons to have a curved screen. They can greatly increase visibility, increase physical comfort in use, reduce battery drain, and potentially break less. Will your next phone have a curved screen?
Have you used a device with a curved screen? Please share your experience below in the comments section.
This blog originally appeared on, www.lineshapespace.com.
Filed Under: M2M (machine to machine)
