Bye Bye Bezel

As more and more smartphone companies race to improve the “screen to body ratio” of their phones, many manufacturers have begun reducing or even eliminating the phones bezel. The bezel is the area around the screen that isn’t actually a part of the screen. One of the most notable examples of this is the Apple Iphone X with its controversial notch at the top of the screen. More recently, companies like Apple have begun removing the fingerprint scanners as a way to remove the bottom bezel entirely. But while Apple opted to go with an infrared based facial scanning, some companies like Vivo and OnePlus have chosen to go with a newly emerged tech called “Fingerprint on Display” or “FOD”. 

Fingerprint on display not only eliminates the need for a bottom bezel where a fingerprint reader would be but it also allows for a much smaller top bezel or notch. It also eliminates the need for fingerprint scanners in other locations like on the back in case of Samsung’s and Google’s flagship phones. FOD claims to be a superior solution to simply putting the fingerprint in another location because FOD allows the user to unlock the phone while it is resting on a table. OnePlus just released their new flagship at the end of October, the OnePlus 6T. This phone features the new FOD which only requires users to place their finger on the bottom third of the screen. Unlocking the OnePlus 6T takes a total of .34 seconds with the FOD.

As the consumer needs change and technology continues to grow, it will be interesting to see what tech stays around. The Fingerprint on Display is certainly one way to tackle the consumers’ demand for high screen to body ratios. Only time will tell if other companies hop on board the FOD concept.

https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2017/09/the-future-is-here-iphone-x/

https://9to5google.com/2018/09/28/oneplus-6t-teaser-video-fingerprint/