Samsung has a long history with curved screens. Back in 2014 when Samsung first introduced curved screens on Galaxy Note Edge, it was considered as one of the most futuristic-looking technology of that time. Since then Samsung has been using curved screens in all of their ultimate flagship smartphones. Not only did it enhance the overall look and feel of the handsets, it also highlighted Samsung in this vast & crowded smartphone market. But right now it is 2024 and the current smartphone market scenario is not the same as what it was 10 years ago. Right now people are more practical than ever and the impractical factors with the curved screens forced Samsung to stop using it on Galaxy S24 Ultra. So let’s see what factors resulted in the demise of curved screens on Samsung smartphones and what were the major practical issues with curved screens.
A Brief History of Curved Screens On Samsung Smartphones
Chapter 1
The history starts in 2013 when the newly born curved screen was first introduced to the spotlight of the smartphone world at the 2013 CES (Consumer Electronics Show). Samsung, one of the biggest player in the display manufacturing department was there with their “Youm” project. Youm was a concept of prototypes for smartphones which was incorporated into flexible displays. Among all the prototypes, one prototype had a screen curved at the right edge of the phone similar to what we saw a year later on the Galaxy Note Edge.
Chapter 2
Samsung Galaxy Note Edge had a super aggressive curved screen on the right side edge of the phone while the other side of the screen was properly flat. At that Samsung added various functionalities to the edge screen like displaying notifications, news, social networks, shortcuts to frequent applications, controls for the music and video players, camera controls and also it was used to display different panels. Back then Samsung also added functionalities like stopwatch, ruler, timer, voice recorder, and flashlight buttons to the edge screen. Surely for the 2014 standards, the edge screen was revolutionary and it added various usability factors.
Chapter 3
Since then Samsung hasn’t looked back and they are offering curved screens to their premium high-end smartphones. But after the launch of Galaxy S21, everything changed. Samsung discontinued the Galaxy Note series and started to differentiate the base Galaxy S models from Ultra models. So with the launch of the Galaxy S21 series, again a Galaxy S model featured a flat screen in the form of Galaxy S21 and Galaxy S21 Plus, while Samsung offered a curved screen on the Galaxy S21 Ultra. This shuttle change in their Galaxy lineup cleared that Samsung is going forward new direction under the control of TM Roh. The same thing also happened with the Galaxy S22 as well as the Galaxy S23 series. And surprising factor was that Samsung was decreasing the overall curvature of the screens generation by generation.
Chapter 4
Surprisingly this year Samsung took a very bold move and finally said goodbye to the curved screens. The Galaxy S24 Ultra has a flat screen similar to the base Galaxy S24 models. So why this happened? Why is Samsung staying away from the curved screens? Let’s discuss.
Why Samsung Ditched Curved Screens On Its Smartphones
The curved screens create a whole new bunch of issues rather than adding any kind of value in 2024. So here are some of the impractical aspects of Curved Screens which resulted in its demise.
1. Durability Concerns
No doubt, curved screens look premium but they also unlock an unlimited amount of durability concerns. Phones with curved screens are more prone to damage when dropped as the curved edges are more exposed and less protected by the phone’s frame compared to flat screens. So when you drop them, they shatter. Also, the overall repair cost of the curved screens is way higher than traditional flat screens as it is a more complex technology.
2. Accidental Touches
Another issue that comes with a curved screen is accidental touches. Curved-screen phones with poor optimization always register unwanted accidental touches when you hold them. The borders of the screen melt into the side of the frame. So you are left with very little space to hold them. So annoying it makes the phone accidental touch-prone. However, brands like Samsung have already fixed this problem with excellent software optimization.
3. App Development and UI Complexity
Usually, app developers place buttons on the side of their applications. So majority of the time the navigation buttons of various applications fall into the edge of the screens which makes it less clickable. Therefore app developers need to specially design the app for curved screens which hurts their productivity factor.
4. Image and Video Distortion
The content viewing experience on the curved screen is poor. While full screen, some parts of the content melt with the edges of the screen which can cause visual distortion. And it gets really bad when you watch videos or read full-screen texts.
5. Issues While Writing With S-Pen
Since the last 3 years with the launch of the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S22, and Galaxy S23 series, Samsung is only offering curved screens only on its Ultra model. And don’t forget Galaxy S22 Ultra and Galaxy S23 Ultra had boxy design and an inbuilt S-Pen slot similar to the Note series. So they are the ultimate office phone of Samsung. But writing with the small S-Pen on the curved edges of the screen is tough. You need a flat surface to smoothly operate the S-Pen. So flat screens are more user-friendly for S-Pen functionalities and that’s why Galaxy S24 Ultra featured a flat screen
Conclusion
So that was all the reasons behind the discontinuation of curved screens on Samsung smartphones. Samsung is more and more moving towards adopting practical approaches and the demise of curved screens is one of its example. No doubt curved screen has its benefits. However, they are less when you compare it with the problems it create.
Thanks for reading this blog, have a nice day.
