In recent years, led by Samsung, major mobile phone manufacturers have been working hard to study folding screen mobile phones, and are committed to promoting the development of smart phones. To date, Samsung, Huawei, Xiaomi, Honor, OPPO and vivo have all launched their own folding screen products to fill their own vacancies in this field, but the actual harvest is not so ideal. DSCC data shows that the global shipments of folding screen mobile phones will be only 7.9 million units in 2021, which is almost insignificant compared to the sales of 1.35 billion smartphones. Even if it increases this year, the market share is still extremely low, and the forecast given by CINNO Research is 15.69 million units.
The reason for the slow growth of folding screen mobile phones is that the price is too expensive on the one hand, and the durability of the product is not guaranteed too high. After it is damaged, the maintenance fee can be sky high – high. On the other hand, the functionality of the folding screen is not really high, and the improvement of the user experience is not particularly significant. It is difficult to have a solid selling point that can attract everyone.Mobile phone manufacturers are looking forward to better and better folding screen mobile phones, but consumers are not very interested in this, but are more interested in another type of mobile phone, that is, “no-hole mobile phones”. Back then, when vivo and Meizu showed their concept phones without holes, they attracted the attention of countless netizens.
(Source: vivo official)
Although there are rumors on the Internet that Apple is developing a foldable screen mobile phone, it has not made any big moves. On the contrary, some actions in recent years seem to suggest that Apple is deliberately promoting the development of the iPhone in a non-porous direction. The 3.5mm headphone jack on the fuselage was canceled for the first time in the iPhone 7, and the physical SIM card slot was canceled in the US version of the iPhone 14 this year.Tianfeng International analyst Ming-Chi Kuo recently broke the news that the iPhone 15 may cancel the physical buttons on the fuselage, and the volume button and power button will be changed to a solid button design. If the news is true, then it seems we’re a huge step closer to a completely hole-free iPhone.
The coveted hole-free phone
Guo Mingji announced that the results of the latest survey show that the volume keys and power keys of the two high-end models of the iPhone 15 can be designed with solid state buttons, not the current physical buttons that can be pressed. However, Apple will add Taptic Engines vibration motors on the left and right sides to provide feedback, allowing users to get the same sensation as pressing a physical button. This design is very similar to the solid Home button on the iPhone 7 and should bring a whole new experience to users. Ming-Chi Kuo also predicts that high-end Android phones may follow this design in the future, which is favorable to the development of the vibration motor industry.
(Source: Twitter)
Apple’s use of solid buttons to replace physical buttons is certainly not arbitrary. It has to be carefully thought out and planned and laid out itself. Along with a series of previous actions, it is not difficult to guess that Apple is preparing to cancel the various openings on the body of the phone step by step. , and finally creating an iPhone with no openings and an all-in-one design.
Xiaolei believes that in Apple’s eyes, the importance of non-porous mobile phones may be higher than folding screens. The absence of openings in the fuselage means that the protection and durability of the mobile phone will be improved, and the folding screen is full of too much uncertainty, which is contrary to improving the durability of the mobile phone and does not comply with the development direction of Apple over the years. Moreover, many of Apple’s innovations show that it is gradually achieving the goal of non-porous mobile phones, and it started to install as early as 2016, which is much earlier than the folding screen. Therefore, we can boldly predict that the future of the non-porous iPhone will definitely come, which may be more attractive than the folding iPhone.
(Source: appleinsider)
In fact, as early as 2019, vivo implemented a non-porous design on its second-generation APEX concept machine. The product has full-screen audio technology, dual-sensing hidden buttons and a magnetic charging interface. In the second year, vivo APEX 2020 went a step further in the non-porous design, with a waterfall screen with super curvature to eliminate the black borders on the left and right sides of the screen. And it is also equipped with 60W wireless fast charging, which completely eliminates the magnetic interface on the back of the fuselage, making the whole machine more seamless. Meizu Zero is also an amazing phone without holes. The sound of the screen, virtual buttons, eSIM card and wireless charging technology make it possible to see reality without openings in the fuselage.
However, a concept machine is a concept machine after all, and it has not been mass produced for many years.Although vivo has applied some of the technology of the concept machine to the mass-produced fuselage, such as the vivo NEX3, which has a waterfall screen, hidden buttons, etc., it has not cut many interfaces on the fuselage, and the product is far from consumer expectations. At the same time, the waterfall screen also brought a lot of false touch problems, resulting in the product not having much response in the end. This loss also seems to have prevented vivo from continuing to explore in this area, so that the new generation of APEX concept machines is not seen now. The Meizu Zero is even further away from us, and it is difficult to say whether we can wait until next year’s Meizu 19.
(Source: Meizu official)
Non-porous mobile phones are perfect and science fiction, but they are indeed a bit bold and radical now, and many technologies cannot support the normal use of non-porous mobile phones in daily life. The mobile phone cannot be plugged in for charging, and the lack of physical buttons is too far from everyone’s traditional usage habits, and may not be accepted by most people. However, from the point of view of the development of mobile phone technology, non-porous mobile phones have great potential for development, and may become another development direction different from folding screens. Once the relevant technology continues to mature, the hole-free mobile phone should not be too far from us.
How far from the realization of truly non-porous mobile phones
If you want to completely eliminate the many openings on the phone, the main problems that need to be solved are the following: the power button and the volume button on both sides of the fuselage, the SIM card slot, the charging port bottom and the speaker, and the ear above the screen. At the moment, indeed, there are some technologies that allow mobile phones to be used normally after removing these interfaces, but after all, there are some shortcomings, and it is difficult to popularize them.
(Source: vivo official)
For example, the power button and the volume button of the fuselage, vivo NEX3 and Huawei Mate30 Pro already have solutions They can all be adjusted by exhaling the virtual volume control bar through the side waterfall screen, but the process is a little more troublesome . The design of virtual buttons + vibration motor adopted by Meizu may be similar to the solution that will be used on the Apple iPhone 15 Pro. By pressing a specific position on the side of the fuselage, you can get the same control feeling as the physical buttons. This solution seems to fit better with everyone’s habits.
It is very simple to get rid of the physical buttons, but one problem that has to be considered is that the virtual buttons are all controlled by the system Once the phone crashes, it means you can’t control the phone at all, and you can’t even force shutdown and restart by long pressing the power button. .Moreover, virtual buttons will also increase the probability of false touches, which is still not as reassuring as physical buttons. So, although there are many ways to get rid of the physical buttons, no manufacturer is willing to do that. After all, it is very difficult for the public to accept and get used to this. It may be depending on whether Apple has such influence.
(Source: appleinsider)
It is simpler to remove the SIM card slot and use the eSIM card directly. However, at present, the domestic eSIM technology is not well developed and popularized. Everyone has been familiar with physical cards for a long time, and it is quite convenient to change cards or phones mobile Even if major operators want to promote the development of eSIM cards, it is indeed difficult. There are also other choices for charging interfaces, speakers and openings Wireless charging can solve the problem of fast charging mobile phones, while screen audio technology allows mobile phones to still have the ability to sound without speakers.
However, both of these technologies also have major limitations. The sound of the screen is produced by the vibration of the screen The sound effect and the speaker are definitely incomparable, and this will also cause great damage to the life of the screen, and the cost is indeed a bit high. 50W wireless charging can indeed meet everyone’s charging needs to some extent, but compared to 150W and 200W wired charging, the speed is still too slow.Nowadays, major manufacturers are trying to use wired fast charging, obviously, it is impossible to cut off the charging interface. Moreover, without the Type-C interface, it is inconvenient to connect the mobile phone to a computer and other devices or to transfer large files, which will still cause trouble for daily use.
(Source: vivo official)
It is not difficult to achieve non-porous mobile phones at the moment, but such a mobile phone will be very limited, and may even be difficult to use normally in some scenarios. This may be the reason why mobile phone manufacturers have not explored this aspect. But to be honest, compared to folding screen mobile phones, hole-free mobile phones may be more pleasant and practical. Android manufacturers have the strength to create non-porous mobile phones, but it is difficult to guide their popularization and development. They may have to use Apple’s influence to promote the industry step by step towards non-porous mobile phones. porous. Which are you looking forward to more, a foldable iPhone or a hole-free iPhone?
This article is from WeChat public account “Lei Technology” (ID: leitech), author: Lei Technology Digital 3C Group, editor: I am not Ultraman_, typography: Big Moon.36krypton released with permission.
