Xiaomi unveils concept phone with near bezel-less display • Hacker News Board

Re: Xiaomi unveils concept phone with near bezel-less display

#151

Post by exergy » Tue, Oct 25, 2016, 8:59 PM UTC

Steko wrote: post #147

LeifCarrotson wrote: post #48

Things I don't particularly care about in a phone: - Bezel size - Weight - Thickness - Manufacturer-specific apps and skins - Screen resolution beyond that of my eyes - Fastest possible processor Things I care about in a phone: - Ability to make calls - Battery life - Replaceable battery - Fits in my pocket - Expandable storage - Durable - Decent camera - Inexpensive - Gets security updates And what do the latest pho…

> - Bezel size > - Weight > - Thickness > - Fastest possible processor I'm calling shenanigans on these. Lots of people talk about not caring about these things but in my experience absolutely everyone appreciates larger screens, thinner and lighter devices and more capable processors.

Not all people. Windows phone used to be a great example of needing only a decidedly mediocre processor to do fantastic things. It used to be great for the "use it and then put it back in pocket asap" sort of lifestyle that I try to adopt. Until they shat all over it.

Re: Xiaomi unveils concept phone with near bezel-less display

#152

Post by pault » Tue, Oct 25, 2016, 9:00 PM UTC

redwards510 wrote: post #142

pault wrote: post #115

I want a _monitor_ with a bezel-less display. Do they exist?

I've read forums about hardcore gamers who remove the bezels on certain monitors in order to group them together for seamless FPS displays. You can probably find it by searching.

Yeah, this is my use case. I've seen a few of those setups and they're not bad. I want to max out the resolution on a single geforce 1080 (7680 x 4320) with 3 4k monitors in portrait mode.

Re: Xiaomi unveils concept phone with near bezel-less display

#153

Post by vacri » Tue, Oct 25, 2016, 9:09 PM UTC

Florin_Andrei wrote: post #125

semi-extrinsic wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

iPhone user? Because I've never had the need to put a case on any of my Android phones, including me and my wife's $150 Moto G3s that get thrown around by our kids. And I do get quite some amusement out of a product praised for it's premium design, materials and svelte features always being carried in a thick ugly plastic/silicon bumper case by essentially everyone.

> I've never had the need to put a case on any of my Android phones Me neither, but some people just manage somehow to smash a lot of phones at a record pace. No idea how they do it. There's a market for phone bumpers, and there's a reason for it.

That market exploded dramatically because of "you're holding it wrong". Before then, it wasn't so common to see phones in bumpers.

Re: Xiaomi unveils concept phone with near bezel-less display

#154

Post by smnscu » Tue, Oct 25, 2016, 9:11 PM UTC

aembleton wrote: post #53

LeifCarrotson wrote: post #48

Things I don't particularly care about in a phone: - Bezel size - Weight - Thickness - Manufacturer-specific apps and skins - Screen resolution beyond that of my eyes - Fastest possible processor Things I care about in a phone: - Ability to make calls - Battery life - Replaceable battery - Fits in my pocket - Expandable storage - Durable - Decent camera - Inexpensive - Gets security updates And what do the latest pho…

With Android there is such a huge choice of different phones that you can find one close to the one you'd like. Many people would like a thin high resolution display and don't care about many of the things you care about. They can buy different phones to you. Personally, I agree with your requirements and as a result have settled for the 2GB version of the Moto G (3rd gen) http://www.gsmarena.com/motorola_moto_g_(3rd…

The hardware is great, especially given the price, but I've never seen so many weird bugs and glitches (it's my first Android phone, funny enough). I've repeatedly had photos not saved, or corrupted, or otherwise other stuff fail randomly (my favorite is "Unfortunately, Android System has stopped"). The karate chop motion for the flashlight is brilliant, but triggers very randomly. Overall you just get an annoying feeling that you can't rely on this phone. My next phone will most likely be running iOS again.

Re: Xiaomi unveils concept phone with near bezel-less display

#155

Post by tdkl » Tue, Oct 25, 2016, 9:11 PM UTC

khedoros1 wrote: post #149

izacus wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep, my Xperia Z5compact is the only device I've found that comes close, but even this one has some frustratingly annoying software bugs, camera issues and lack of updates :/

I said in another comment that I'm looking at an XC. Z3C is older than I want to go, and the common opinion about the Z5C seems to be that it was 2 steps forward and 1.5 backward. I'm encouraged by a lot of the community's work on Sony phones, and how Sony seems to embrace unlockable bootloaders. It gives me hope that I could provide support for my phone even after Sony abandons it.

Unlocking the bootloader means loosing the DRM keys forever which results in worse camera. Also binaries are the issue for custom ROM support - as usual for Android.

Re: Xiaomi unveils concept phone with near bezel-less display

#156

Post by hawski » Tue, Oct 25, 2016, 9:14 PM UTC

I hope that bezel-less-ness race will result in irrelevance of hardware form. What I care the most is the software. Hardware now is mostly good enough. Than maybe they would go die and it would be just like PC-s. I just want to have something good enough with reasonably supported software.

Is it wishful thinking? Or are we close?

I know that they still can push crapware.

Re: Xiaomi unveils concept phone with near bezel-less display

#157

Post by morsch » Tue, Oct 25, 2016, 9:19 PM UTC

GFischer wrote: post #144

Karunamon wrote: post #45

I can't possibly be the only one that laments the fact that all smartphones look basically the same after the iPhone took off. Candybar slates with massive screens and questionable batteries and life. No sliders, no flips, nothing new or interesting in hardware. Now, only featureless slabs with barely a physical button in sight, differentiated more by the images they display on screen and less their components. Event…

You're not the only one. But most diversions from the norm failed :( and large companies are afraid to innovate. LG's attempts are weird. My hope is now on Chinese companies like Xiaomi to do something different :) Also, Google hinders innovation by preventing hardware buttons. I miss the Photo button from my old Nokias the most, but also to answer the phone and other functions.

How is Google preventing hardware buttons? Sony's most recent phones (Xperia X) have dedicated photo buttons; and that's a longstanding Xperia feature. I doubt they're the only ones.

Android defaults to on-screen bottom-row buttons (to reduce bezel size), but the OS supports off-screen buttons just fine, and phones with dedicated buttons exist.

Re: Xiaomi unveils concept phone with near bezel-less display

#158

Post by dmix » Tue, Oct 25, 2016, 9:21 PM UTC

What a beautiful phone. I've wanted to get a Xiaomi phone to play around with for a long time. It's a shame they're so hard to get a hold of in North America. Need more friends in China...

Re: Xiaomi unveils concept phone with near bezel-less display

#159

Post by AlexC04 » Tue, Oct 25, 2016, 9:47 PM UTC

I don't know, how "tightly coupled" is the glass of that screen with the rest of the device?

I have an iPad pro. When the screen grew a crack, I called to inquire about the cost of a replacement screen and was quoted at roughly 2/3 the price of a new device.

god bless the woman at Apple support who "pulled a string for me" and issued an RMA.

the replacement has also grown a hairline fracture despite what I would consider "careful use" (which I am fully aware makes it look like a PEBCAK issue, but I'm standing by my claim that I knew how lucky I was and have in no way tempted fate)

I'd happily trade a bezel-less design for one where the screen could be swapped for a fiver. (Or one that doesn't crack at all I guess!)

Re: Xiaomi unveils concept phone with near bezel-less display

#160

Post by Steko » Tue, Oct 25, 2016, 9:50 PM UTC

exergy wrote: post #151

Steko wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> - Bezel size > - Weight > - Thickness > - Fastest possible processor I'm calling shenanigans on these. Lots of people talk about not caring about these things but in my experience absolutely everyone appreciates larger screens, thinner and lighter devices and more capable processors.

Not all people. Windows phone used to be a great example of needing only a decidedly mediocre processor to do fantastic things. It used to be great for the "use it and then put it back in pocket asap" sort of lifestyle that I try to adopt. Until they shat all over it.

I'm not saying you can't do fantastic things with a mediocre processor. I'm saying there are fantastic things you can't do with a mediocre processor and people appreciate those whether they connect the experiences to the processor or not. Opening websites faster is something everyone appreciates.