It’s IFA in Berlin this week, and as always, most of the new devices announced are iterations on what came before and not particularly interesting. One device stands out, though – and it’s a Samsung.
The Note Edge is, on paper at least, only the slightest variation on the new Note 4. It has the same metallic design, a huge improvement on anything Samsung’s done before. It has the same soft-touch back, blissfully without the fake stitching. It has the same 16-megapixel camera, the same heart-rate monitor, the same processor, the same memory, the same software, the same new Multi Window feature, the same everything. It’s an incredibly high-end, incredibly powerful phone. It even has a Quad HD, 2560 x 1440 display like the Note 4, though this one is slightly smaller at 5.6 inches rather than 5.7.
But there’s more to the Note Edge than its spec sheet.
That ‘more’ refers to its display. The right edge of the display is curved downward, creating a sort of little side display attached to the big one. This little side display can be used to show additional application controls, a ticker, an alarm clock, and so on. It looks kind of neat, but as always with Samsung, I’m pretty sure their software is going to ruin it and turn it into even more of a gimmick than it already is.
I could see this being kind of useful if you could have controls for one app on the side panel while using another on the main screen. For example, navigation controls for a media/radio app on the side while you browse the web or do whatever on the main screen.
That being said, I don’t use cases, and I bet getting the screen repaired if you drop and crack it would cost an arm and a leg. Plus, the phone is still too damn big, assuming you don’t have Sasquatch hands.
Well it is the most interesting innovation in the last 2 or 3 years really.
I really like the phone, the only downside for me is Android… I can’t use it, It drives me nuts.
If they launch a Windows Phone version…
curved edge, square icons… THAT would drive me nuts!
Not only this. First it will immediately exclude all kinds of bumper protectors.
Second, having an screen expanded to left edge makes the phone much more vulnerable to damage when it hits the floor. Combined with the repair cost it’s a nightmare in the making. Every customer should better buy additional $100 insurance.
Or, maybe it will turn one to be very durable and have great build quality. If you do manage to break it somehow, perhaps the cost of parts will be in line with the competition. There’s nothing special about this phone that would make it extremely delicate or extremely costly to service so there’s no reason to believe or buy into any FUD as far as I’m concerned.
I see this curved screen as a pretty useless feature. Some few people may love it, but I doubt it’ll earn a large marketshare.
It might be useful, but it must not be touted as a major feature so that they can raise the price.
The same is true to curved TV displays,and may even degrade the viewing experience.
How does it fare for left-handed people? Holding it in you But maybe they make a version for them… In any case, it looks more like a gimmick than anything else. I think it is the result of wanting to be different design-wise and showing “hey, we’ve got flexible displays”. Form over function.
Just like the iPhone?
At least Samsung are trying to innovate. Apple, on the other hand, thinks that using a slightly bigger screen is a bleeding edge radical innovation.
It’s actually not a curved display per se. It’s two displays, where the smaller one is cleverly positioned with slightly curved glass *over* the the rim and the smaller display. Neither displays are actually curved.
I’m surprised The Verge didn’t catch this. Not that it matters much.
It’s just a stupid gimmick that will cause lots of spurious input for people operating their phone with the left hand, screen rotations in any direction is no longer as useful, etc.
Edited 2014-09-04 09:35 UTC
I can’t say I was really excited when I saw the CES coverage of Samsung’s curved display in 2013. Showing off a product a year later still doesn’t get my interest.
Doesn’t seem to be very useful to me.
A second small screen at the bottom of the phone to house all the soft keys/status things would be much more useful.
This is just a waste of screen real estate.