The race to have notch-less screens is on and everyone is trying different ways to find the right mix of usability and productivity while not compromising on the looks. LG has reportedly filed patents for a new phone that may have three or four cameras on the back and a notch-less design. While there is a very thin forehead to the phone which houses the cameras just like the G6, the chin and forehead are both comparatively thinner.
Phones Without Borders
Mi Mix was one of the first phones to try to eliminate the bezels and Oppo and Vivo soon followed. Oppo Find X employed a sliding camera while Vivo NEX had a pop-up selfie camera. The Mi Mix 3, which saw it’s launch recently, features a sliding back which is mechanical and not electronic. With its sliding camera, the Mi Mix 3 has a 93 % screen-to-body ratio.
The images show that a fingerprint sensor will still be available in the phone. It seems like LG is not quite ready to embrace the in display fingerprint just yet. Samsung on the other hand always steers clear of the whole notch saga. They have made a different identity for themselves with the curved display which they call the infinity display. It has, on several occasions, mocked Google as well as Apple for their notches and are definitely taking a different route.
Samsung has also said that they are working on an under-display front facing camera to avoid the notch altogether. It is rumoured that the Samsung Galaxy A8s may feature the under- display camera. LG’s design patents suggest three different designs with each one having more rounded corners than the last. It will be interesting to see if LG’s old school design without the notch fares well with the customers or not!
Corning is the leader when it comes to manufacturing glass panels for smartphones. Almost all the flagship smartphones use a Corning Gorilla Glass panels to ensure longevity and durability of these devices. The current Corning glass in use is the Gorilla Glass 5. However, on 19th July the company announced the new Corning Gorilla Glass 6. Dubbed as the toughest and the most customizable glass panel, the Gorilla Glass 6 is yet to feature on any smartphone. However, Corning recently announced that Oppo will be the first company to feature the Gorilla Glass 6 on its smartphones. According to rumours however, the Galaxy Note 9 was to be the first Android smartphone with Gorilla Glass 6 panels. The Note 9 is expected to launch on 9th August.
Initially, it was the first generation of Apple iPhone for which Corning designed the Gorilla Glass. Although Apple has never officially named any of the vendors from which it gets the hardware for the iPhone. The company demanded a strong glass material which would not only be durable but also responsive. In all likelihood, the 2018 iPhone will also feature the Corning Gorilla Glass 6. Apart from Apple, the other highly anticipated manufacturer to feature the Gorilla Glass 6 is Samsung. With the launch of the Galaxy Note 9 hardly a couple of days away, Samsung will most likely want to feature the latest and greatest for its flagship offering. Thus, while Oppo may be the first “official” brand, Samsung and Apple would also sport the Gorilla Glass 6 on their devices as well, among other manufacturers.
The Corning Gorilla Glass 6 will allow manufacturers to customize the way they want to use the glass. They can use it for displays, or as back panels which will be available in a coloured or textured finish. The best part is, Corning will do the designing and texturing of the glass for the company. This would mean, that the upcoming Oppo smartphone could sport a unique looking back panel.
It will be interesting to see how well the new Corning Gorilla Glass 6 performs in real life. The company claims that the glass can survive the glass can survive 15 drops from a height of 1 meter. For reference, other glass compositions, such as soda lime and aluminosilicate, do not survive the first drop from the same height. We look forward to the launch of the new Oppo device featuring the Gorilla Glass 6. It will be interesting to see how the new panel fairs against the currently available Gorilla Glass 5, which also featured in the Oppo Find X.
Oppo has finally launched the Find X in India for a price of Rs. 59,990 exclusively through Flipkart. The company also plans on selling the Oppo Find X through offline stores. Pre-orders for Find X will begin from 25 July and the phone will go on sale starting 3rd August. The hefty price may be a turn-off for some people but it would be nice to see how well the phone does in the Indian market. Oppo is among the first manufacturers from China to release a phone at this price range. There is still no official word on when the Indian market will see the Oppo Find X Automobili Lamborghini Edition .
Oppo Find X
The Oppo Find X looks astonishing with its unique and close to truly bezel-less design. The whopping 98.3% screen-to-body ratio is another feature which makes the Oppo Find X one of the top devices of 2018. The way this smartphone manages to achieve such a ratio is by moving the front camera behind the display. The front camera along with the rear camera is docked away in a motorized panel which pops-up when needed.
The two colour variants in which the Oppo Find X will be sold in India are Glacier Blue and Bordeaux Red.
The motorized mechanism has a high probability of failure. Although Oppo has tested the pop-up mechanism for 300,000 slides. The company says that the average person unlocks their phone 100-150 times a day. This puts the mechanism’s shelf-life to about 5 years of failure-free usage.
Stealth 3D Camera
The OPPO Find X misses out on a fingerprint sensor and instead uses Face Unlock which they call it the Stealth 3D Camera. The company claims that it is a bit more advanced than the software-based Face Unlock found on other modern day devices. The Find X uses a dot matrix projector to scan the face to allow the unlock, this is quite similar to the tech seen on the iPhone X.
Under the hood, the smartphone runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset coupled with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. Powering the smartphone is a 3730 mAh battery with support for VOOC Flash Charging. Out of the box, the smartphone will run Android 8.1 Oreo with ColorOS 5.1 on top of it.
The sliding module houses a 16MP and a 20MP aperture rear-facing dual camera setup. These are 1.26″ sensors with an aperture of f/2.0 aperture. The smartphone is capable of recording 4K videos at 30fps but, we know that the chipset can handle 4K videos at 60fps. The camera on the front is a 25MP sensor with a f/2.0 aperture.
In Europe, the Oppo Find X retails for a price of 999 Euros which is why most people speculated this smartphone will launch in India for Rs. 80,000. The smartphone will go on sale in India for a relatively cheaper price. Stay tuned to iGyaan as we will be taking an in-depth look at the device.
The year 2018 has given the world a ton of exciting new smartphones so far. With smartphones like the OnePlus 6 and Huawei P20 Pro, the anticipation of what’s to come in the future is really high. OnePlus managed to essentially sell more than Rs. 10 Crore worth of devices in the first ten minutes during the OnePlus 6 flash sale. Then the Huawei P20 Pro came in and disrupted the market with a triple camera setup. Naturally, we had to compile a list of the top upcoming smartphones in the next couple of weeks.
1. Oppo Find X
The Oppo Find X is expected to release in India on July 12th and is expected to have a hefty price of Rs. 78,500. Oppo has managed to catch a lot of attention with the Find X. Even though it is not the first device without a notch and an almost bezel-less a display, Oppo Find X is still an exciting smartphone.
The way Oppo got rid of the notch, was by introducing a motorized part which eloquently hides the front and rear cameras. The Oppo Find X features a 6.42 inch 2340 x 1080 pixel display with an aspect ratio of 18.5:9. This translates to about 87% screen-to-body ratio.
The Oppo Find X runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset along with the Adreno 630 GPU. The primary camera on the Find X is in the pop-up mechanism, consisting of a dual camera setup with a 16MP 1/2.6″ sensor and a 20MP 1/2.8″ sensor both with an f/2.0 aperture. The primary camera setup will have Optical Image Stabilization. The front facing selfie camera is also housed in the pop-up mechanism and is a 20MP sensor with an f/2.0 aperture.
The Find X has two colour variants namely, Bordeaux Red and Glacier Blue. The interesting design of the phone make it one of the most exciting and worth top upcoming smartphones this quarter.
2. Vivo NEX
Vivo NEX
The Vivo NEX with a similar pop up camera design is expected to launch on 19th July in India starting at a considerably lower price Rs. 47,999. The Vivo NEX is yet another smartphone with an almost entire screen at the front of the device. Here, it uses the same concept of a motorized part for the camera only to achieve a notch-free and a nearly bezel-less display much like the Oppo Find X above. However, Vivo decided to only house the front-facing camera which comes out of the top of the phone and slides back in when not in use.
Vivo Nex With Camera Deployed
The Vivo NEX features the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset which is paired with the Adreno 630 GPU. The smartphone sports a Super AMOLED 6.59 inch 2316 x 1080 pixel display with an aspect ratio of 18:9.
The camera setup on the Vivo NEX consists of dual 12MP and 8MP camera with f/1.8 and f/2.4 aperture respectively. The secondary camera is a single 8MP sensor with f/2.0 aperture. The primary camera on this device also features OIS. A motorized part in a portable device is a risky move, regardless, the Vivo NEX is still one of the most exciting upcoming smartphones.
The BlackBerry Key2 is all set to go on sale from 13th July in the United States and is expected in India Mid-End July. BlackBerry launched the Key2 on June 7th after the KeyOne incurred a price cut. This is again among the exciting upcoming smartphones, and the only modern smartphone with a full physical QWERTY Keyboard.
The BlackBerry Key2 has a 4.5 inch 1620 x 1080 pixels IPS LCD display with an aspect ratio of 3:2. The Key2 is expected to launch in two storage variants; 64GB or 128GB paired with 6GB of RAM. The processing speed is provided by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 chipset and the Adreno 512 GPU, faster than the SoC of the KeyOne. The Key2 sports a relatively large 3,500 mAh battery. An exciting option for those who love tactile feedback.
After being surrounded by rumors and speculations, the Nokia X6 is finally launching Globally on 19th July and is expected to come to India soon after. It could be among the top upcoming smartphones of this month. Nokia has tapped into the notch trend with the X6. Despite its premium look, the Nokia X6 was launched in China at a rather affordable CNY 1,499 ( Approx Rs. 15,500). Hopefully Nokia will keep similar pricing for global and Indian launches.
The Nokia X6 has a 5.8 inch IPS LCD display with 2280 x 1080 pixels and a 19:9 ratio. Because of the notch, the screen to body ratio of the Nokia X6 is approximately 80.3%. The device runs the Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 chipset and the Adreno 509 GPU. Powering the phone is a 3,060 mAh Li-ion battery.
Samsung is ready to launch a new smartphone in its Galaxy Note lineup. The Galaxy Note 9 is expected to arrive on 9th August and it is also one of the top upcoming smartphones. According to some reports,the Note 9 will follow the Note 8 in the design department but, there could be some minor changes in its aesthetics.
As suggested by the Twitter user Ice Universe, the S Pen for the Galaxy Note 9 could be first of its kind with Bluetooth connectivity and will users to control long-range self-timer, control music playback.
We can expect that the Galaxy Note 9 will have a 6.4 inch Super AMOLED display with at least 2960 x 1440 pixel resolution and an 18.5:9 aspect ratio, similar to the one found on the galaxy Note 8. Ice Universe also speculated that the Galaxy Note 9 will pack a 4,000 mAh battery.
Motorola claims that it has sold over 70 million G series phones worldwide and now the company is planning to release yet another G series phone in India, the G6 Plus. The phone is expected to be launched end July.
The Moto G6 Plus has a 5.9 inch IPS LCD display with a 2160 x 1080 pixels and an aspect ratio of 18:9. The Moto G6 Plus might launch in two variants in India, one with 4GB RAM and 64GB internal storage and the other with 6GB RAM and 128GB internal storage. The SoC on the G6 Plus 6GB variant is allegedly going to be the Snapdragon 660 ( for the Indian market) along with the Adreno 512 GPU.
The innovation in the smartphone industry has picked up the pace in the recent years. If 2018 is anything to go by, then the next few years will be very exciting for any smartphone enthusiast. So, stay tuned to iGyaan to also catch the latest tech news and trends.
A truly bezel-less smartphone is the dream we all have. We have seen smartphones mimicking the look of a bezel-less smartphone but, we are still quite a distance away from that sweet 100% screen-to-body ratio. But, that doesn’t mean smartphone makers aren’t making advancements toward that future. OPPO, the popular Chinese smartphone maker is the new entrant to the race for the highest screen-to-body ratio with the OPPO Find X. The unique smartphone was recently launched in China and is set to launch in India on July 12th.
The highlight of the OPPO Find X is its design. To achieve a high screen-to-body ratio, the company decided to move the front camera behind the display. However, we still don’t have the technology to embed a camera under the display. To counter that, the company took a page from the Vivo NEX S handbook and went for a pop-up camera. However, unlike the NEX S, the pop-up mechanism houses both the front camera and a rear facing dual camera setup.
Face Unlock Mechanism
Interestingly, the OPPO Find X misses out on a fingerprint sensor. It instead uses Face Unlock which is a bit more advanced than the software-based Face Unlock found on modern day devices. This means that the camera would pop-up a lot more than the NEX S. Hence, the durability of the mechanism can be questioned. OPPO conceded that the pop-up mechanism was tested to 300,000 slides, and the company says that the average person unlocks their phone 100-150 times a day. This means that durability won’t be an issue for at least 5 years.
With the slider doing the bulk of the heavy lifting usually dedicated to the bezels, the front of the smartphone is almost entirely made of a 6.4 inch OLED display with a 2160 x 1080 px resolution. The company claims that the screen-to-body ratio stands at 92.5%.
Under the hood, the smartphone runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset coupled with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. Powering the smartphone is a 3730 mAh battery with support for VOOC fast charging. Out of the box, the smartphone will run Android 8.1 Oreo with ColorOS 5.1 on top of it.
The sliding module houses a 16MP and a 20MP rear facing dual camera setup. The smartphone is capable of recording 4K videos at 30fps but, we know that the chipset can handle 4K videos at 60fps. The camera on the front is a 25MP sensor with an f/2.0 aperture.
The OPPO Find X retails in Europe for 999 Euros which translates to about Rs 80000. However, that is not how the pricing of smartphones is done and the device could launch at a lower price in India. The pricing will be announced at the launch event is just a few days.
Smartphone marketing, as we have come to realise, can often be misleading. The Lenovo Z5 is the latest example of that. We expected a truly bezel-less device and instead got a notched smartphone with a mediocre design. The next smartphone to create waves of interest is the OPPO Find X. The new flagship smartphone from the Chinese smartphone maker is set to launch on June 19th in Paris.
Like the Lenovo Z5, the company has been teasing the design and features of the OPPO Find X on social media. In its latest post, the company claims that the smartphone will have a whopping 93.8% screen-to-body ratio. The current record holder is the newly Vivo NEX with a 91.2% screen-to-body ratio. OPPO will attain this ratio with a notch while the Vivo NEX, as we all know, doesn’t have a notch. With this screen-to-body ratio, OPPO’s record might not be broken for a while since the industry is still limited in the way an AMOLED display connects to a motherboard. So far, only the iPhone X has managed to not have a chin by curving the display inwards. It’ll be interesting to see OPPO executes its design for the Find X.
Vivo NEX
Even the notch on the OPPO Find X is expected to be different from what we’ve seen on any device so far. A recent teaser shows that the notch will be much more curved than devices like the iPhone X or Mi 8. This should result, at least on paper, in a much less asymmetrical design compared to other notched smartphones. However, this is just an educated guess from the teaser and the end result could be completely different, as we have seen on the Z5.
The OPPO Find X is expected to feature a 6.4 inch AMOLED display with a 2280 x 1080 px resolution.
The device could run on the Snapdragon 845 coupled with up to 8GB of RAM and 128GB of onboard storage. The storage will be expandable via a microSD card. The fingerprint sensor will be placed on the back of the device which also houses a 16MP dual-camera setup. The notch will house a 25MP sensor for selfies.
The launch of the Find X is just a day away and the specifications, coupled with the ambitious design surely makes this the most anticipated OPPO device yet.
