Oppo Just Solved The ‘Notch Problem’ For Bezel-Free Phones


For better or worse, an increasing number of smartphone manufacturers have embraced the notch. Making its debut on the Essential Phone before exploding into the mainstream with the iPhone X, it allows phones to have a ‘bezel-free’ display without compromising the camera, sensors or other front-facing components.

Some people consider notched displays to be a necessary evil. Others think they’re an abomination. Whichever viewpoint you prescribe to, it turns out you can have an edge-to-edge screen without relying on a notch – all you need is a pop-up camera. Genius.

Earlier in the week, Oppo unveiled the unusually named Find X smartphone to the world. Like most flagship Androids, it has some beefy specs beneath the hood including a Snapdragon 845 processor, 8GB of RAM, 256GB of storage and a 3730mAh battery. It also comes with a 3D facial scanner that supports mobile payments through Alibaba’s Alipay, dual-SIM posts, a Smart Selfie Capture mode and VOOC fast charging.

[referenced url=”https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2018/06/oppos-new-phone-lets-you-buy-stuff-with-your-face/” thumb=”https://www.gizmodo.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/oppo-find-x.jpg” title=”Oppo’s New Phone Lets You Buy Stuff With Your Face” excerpt=”Oppo just announced its brand new flagship phone in Paris — the Find X. It includes some interesting design choices, the most significant being its stealth camera that only pops up when you turn the phone on or open the camera app. Oh also, it has 3D facial modelling that you can use to shop online.”]

However, its main claim to fame is a truly bezel-free design. This is made possible by a 25-megapixel “stealth camera” that pops out of the chassis’ rear. (Old school phone users will be familiar with this mechanism from the slide-out keypad days.)

The upshot of all this is that the Oppo Find X gets to have its cake and eat it too – there are no bezels wasting valuable screen real estate but there’s also no notch eating into the display. The idea is so simple it’s a wonder other manufacturers haven’t done it already.

Check it out below:


We really, really like the look of that bezel-less display – and it’s mostly down to the lack of a notch. Even if you don’t mind notched displays (and the concept does have its fans), it can’t be denied that they get in the way while viewing media in full screen/immersive mode. The pop-up mechanism deftly removes that problem.

The only downside is that it necessitate a slightly thicker phone. Personally, we’re willing to live with that if it means an edge-to-edge screen without any obstructions. Hopefully other manufacturers will trial slide-out solutions of their own.

Oppo has not released pricing or availability info yet. but it has confirmed that the device will be shipping to Australia. If you’d like to know about the Find X, click here for our hands-on first impressions.

[referenced url=”https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2018/03/why-were-sick-of-the-phone-notch-already/” thumb=”https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/t_ku-large/rwmy5vns3yasn4pst5dk.jpg” title=”Why We’re Sick Of ‘Notched’ Phones” excerpt=”When Essential debuted the first-ever notched display on the PH-1, it was a bold, divisive statement about smartphone design. Then Apple put one on the iPhone X and while some people still didn’t get it, the sentiment around the notch shifted from confusion to curious appreciation.

But now, after going to Mobile World Congress and seeing pretty much every other smartphone maker adopt the notch, the feature has almost entirely lost its cool.”]


The Cheapest NBN 50 Plans

Here are the cheapest plans available for Australia’s most popular NBN speed tier.

At Lifehacker, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you'll like too. We have affiliate and advertising partnerships, which means we may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. BTW – prices are accurate and items in stock at the time of posting.

Comments


13 responses to “Oppo Just Solved The ‘Notch Problem’ For Bezel-Free Phones”

Leave a Reply