Today's smartphones look similarly boring and in part because we want to

In the history of the phone, there was a time when these devices were designed with 'all shapes', all kinds of ways. This period came after the first big phones before and before the era. smartphone today.

The Nokia N-GAGE, for example, looks like something from a Star  Trek episode. Flip phones, slider phones, music phones, up to weird-looking devices, anything is possible.

Today's smartphones look similarly boring and in part because we want to Picture 1

Motorola StarTAC Rainbow, Nokia N-GAGE, Motorola V70; Samsung Juke, Nokia 7600, Siemens Xelibri 4

Take a look at the above device! Compared to today, they are like something from an eccentric inventor. Are these phones incredibly functional, efficient and powerful? Of course not! Some of these strange devices are even harder to use normally. But their design is enough to excite people. 

Today, even though we have a super-powerful smartphone in our pocket, we no longer feel excited about the design. How come from phones with countless shapes, we only have smartphones with rectangular screens in the same way?

Trong design more features

The first phones were built with the sole purpose of handling calls. Large antennas, small screen, and almost no design considerations. However, technology has come up and phones are no longer a big 'fortune'. That's when manufacturers start thinking about factors like portability, design and coolness. Even if it makes it difficult to use.

Today's smartphones look similarly boring and in part because we want to Picture 2

The gorgeous Nokia

The new millennium has begun, we are starting to have a clamshell phone for women, colorful teen models with replaceable covers, a phone with lots of gadgets and gadgets for businesses. multiply. Regardless of your cultural group, there's a phone for you. Fast forward to 2007, when an unexpected turning point occurs.

Ripe apple tree

It's undeniable that Apple made everything upside down in 2007 with the introduction of the iPhone. The company has shown the world what the phone of the future will look like. Of course, smartphones have been around before the iPhone, but they have a bulky interface, aimed at business and aesthetics, which makes them not for everyone. 

Today's smartphones look similarly boring and in part because we want to Picture 3

iPhone and the "victims"

BlackBerry and Nokia have held their ground for a while with Symbian and BBOS, but they are only delaying the inevitable.

Soon Apple phones became the most copied device, even a number of lawsuits happened, but eventually we had to admit that the phone merger had begun. Symbian, WebOS and Bada all became memories and made room for the Android and iOS duo. And on the hardware front, the physical keyboard has 'abdicated' and ceded the 'throne' to a newly crowned king - the touch screen.

The big screen fight

Users quickly realized that the bigger screen offered a better experience. The touch screen interface makes things a lot easier and if you don't believe it, just try sending a message on a phone with an old T9 keyboard. Meanwhile, improved network speed and smooth streaming of content have become a reality. Phone cameras are also evolving and in general, there are many things you can do on phones that benefit from larger screens.

However, all pixels require power, and with a larger screen, the battery will have to be larger. When we put together a large rectangular piece on a pocket-sized body, there was not much room for design innovation.

Manufacturers have begun an arms race to provide the largest screen possible, and we have the Phablet line, the intersection of phones and tablets. Even the phablet concept eventually disappeared as the screen got bigger and bigger.

However, the screen is still the screen, you can cut the edges to make it smaller, you can bend the edges beautifully, but in general they are still a rectangular sheet that takes up most of the face. The front of the phone and that is the common point of the phones today. There were even some modular phones launched, but people didn't care. The end result is like this:

Today's smartphones look similarly boring and in part because we want to Picture 4

So, why are phones the same?

The bezelless screen design and bigger battery are good, but it's also a drawback. Real phones are built around screens and their batteries, so focus and these two leave brands with no room for design diversity.

- People like the premium things they are used to and manufacturers continue to choose the security option. This is why nearly all phones are made of glass and metal

- Most design differences on modern phones are obscured by the case.

- The actual hardware keyboard is outdated and tests like modular design have failed.

- We only have two operating systems left: Android and iOS. The iPhone is 'just a market' and the Android devices also look and work similarly.

- Brands copy each other. No company is ashamed to copy a feature or design element from someone else. At the same time, very few companies are willing to try new ideas because these things rarely pay off because people are so used to the old.

We have resigned to carrying phones that look similar. However, with the development of technology, things will not stand still. At least not stay in place for too long.

Traditional bend

Gradually we all have created this vicious circle. Smartphone manufacturers have given people what they need and want, but they've been doing it for so long that people have really gotten used to the glass - metal design, large screen and multi-camera system. . Ultimately, smartphones look the same because everyone wants to buy the same design.

Still, some companies think it's time to change. And that is how flexible displays are born.

Today's smartphones look similarly boring and in part because we want to Picture 5

Folding screen technology is not really new, but perhaps now, manufacturers have decided that changing the design, despite the potential for huge financial risks, is still necessary to change, and they We have the Galaxy Folds and Z Flips of today. We have seen the first significant change in smartphone design in more than a decade.

 Whether it will last for long or not is an open question, but foldable smartphones have revived a design from the past (flip phones) and spawned another design (folding tablets).

Perhaps the final question is not 'Why do all phones look the same?', But rather 'Do people really need a different design?'. Are we ready for a change? Is there any technology needed to replace it? Let's hope to see another chapter in this great technology book. For now, it seems that we have to continue living normally with this familiar design for a while longer.