Tag Archives: Smartphones

Samsung Galaxy A15 and A25 launched with an odd design element

Posted on by

Compared to its rather rowdy past, Samsung has been changing its phone designs less frequently these days. This allows the brand to cement its image, especially when those designs remain unique to it. The absence of a large camera bump, for example, has become a signature element in Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S phones, espousing a level of minimalism not found in other brands. It’s also becoming a standard even in its mid-range Galaxy A family, almost turning into Samsung’s design DNA. That’s not to say it no longer experiments with different designs, as demonstrated by its latest mid-range models that bear what might be the strangest design detail to have come across a Samsung phone in recent years.

Designer: Samsung

At first glance, the new Galaxy A15 and A25 look quite plain, almost like the smaller versions of the Samsung Galaxy S flagship. In fact, given what we know so far about next year’s upcoming Galaxy S24, you could almost say they prefigure Samsung’s next big thing. The Galaxy A15 and A25 feature very flat edges on all sides, at least except where the volume and power buttons are.

In most smartphones, the volume and power buttons are the only pieces that protrude from the side of an otherwise flat or featureless edge. It’s a necessary style to allow the fingers to immediately locate and press the buttons even without seeing them. Samsung, however, seems to have gotten the idea to raise not the buttons themselves but the area surrounding the buttons. It calls it “Key Island,” and it seems to be inspired by the common camera island or camera bump design on most smartphones.

The area flanking and in between these two buttons are raised almost to the same height as the buttons themselves. The sides of this mound gently curve upward while the island itself has a curved surface that contrasts with the flat edges of the rest of the phone. It’s not immediately clear, but it seems that the volume and power buttons still rise a little bit higher than the island, making it a two-step elevation also like some smartphone camera bumps.

While it adds a bit of visual uniqueness to the Galaxy A15 and A25, it is still puzzling why Samsung decided to go with this Key Island design in the first place. To some extent, it defeats the purpose of tactile physical buttons since it will be harder for fingers to sense where the correct buttons or areas actually are. The extruded portion might also snag more than simple buttons, not to mention taking up more space and becoming incompatible with cases that would have otherwise fit these two phones. Thankfully, these are mid-tier products and Samsung can afford to play around with what might become unpopular designs. Hopefully, this isn’t a foreshadowing of what the Galaxy S24 will have in a few months.

The post Samsung Galaxy A15 and A25 launched with an odd design element first appeared on Yanko Design.

ASUS ROG Phone 8 design takes a very different direction

Posted on by

Almost every smartphone these days can play games, especially the expensive high-end ones, but there are a few that definitely take the cake. They’re labeled gaming phones not just because of some special feature, such as a tiny fan spinning inside, but also because of the gamer aesthetics that they embrace. For years now, the ASUS ROG Phone has held the crown of having the most gamer-friendly design, but it seems that it’s finally willing to let that title go next year. Based on its own teasers, the next Republic of Gamers smartphone might be embracing a more mainstream design in exchange for what might finally be more capable cameras as well.

Designer: ASUS (via GSMarena)

ASUS ROG Phone 7

To be fair, there is no guidebook on how to apply a gamer aesthetic to products, but you can bet it will have plenty of RGB lighting and lines going in multiple directions that suggest the presence of machine panels. Indeed, the previous ROG Phones have employed those design elements, sometimes even going as far as using small LED screens for more dynamic accents. Of course, none of these are essential to the actual gaming experience, but they do add a nice touch that marks the product as something truly designed with gamers in mind.

ASUS ROG Phone 6

ASUS ROG Phone 6

ASUS ROG Phone 6

Given its history, it’s a bit surprising that the ASUS ROG Phone 8 might do away with those design elements almost entirely. Although nothing’s set in stone yet, the brand’s official teaser suggests that it might be adopting a more minimalist and subdued design, one that eschews the lines and RGB colors. What we see instead is a clean dual-tone composition that, given the gray colors, looks more industrial than futuristic. There could still be some lighting underneath the ROG logo, but could very well be the only place it shows up.

Perhaps more curious is the camera bump design, a thick pentagon laid on top of a square. For generations, the ROG Phones have carried mediocre cameras, so a switch to a triple camera system could be big news for fans of the brand. It’s not a clear win yet, of course, but it’s commendable that ASUS is willing to shake things up to improve its performance.

To its credit, the ROG Phones have slowly been moving towards more conventional and less spectacular designs, but the ROG Phone 8 could have the most drastic changes if the teasers are to be taken at face value. On the one hand, it does help make the ROG Phones more acceptable in “regular” scenarios and won’t stand out as much. On the other hand, if you want a more conventional-looking smartphone that can handle mobile games, there are already plenty of those in the market, making the ROG Phone 8 redundant.

ASUS ROG Phone 7

The post ASUS ROG Phone 8 design takes a very different direction first appeared on Yanko Design.

iQOO 12 Review: Checking Most of the Right Boxes, No More, No Less

Posted on by

PROS:


  • Impressive camera output

  • Outstanding hardware performance

  • Distinctive BMW "Legend" Edition design (not the review unit)

CONS:


  • Low IP64 water resistance

  • Mediocre 16MP front camera

  • Limited global availability

RATINGS:

AESTHETICS
ERGONOMICS
PERFORMANCE
SUSTAINABILITY / REPAIRABILITY
VALUE FOR MONEY

EDITOR'S QUOTE:

Designed for mobile photography and games, the iQOO 12 delivers a solid performance without much fuss or fanfare.

The year is almost over, but it’s never too late to announce new flagship smartphones, especially when there’s a new mobile processor available. Riding on Qualcomm’s momentum, a few phone makers have almost simultaneously revealed their newest wares in a race to be the first and the best. Of course, just because you’re using the latest hardware available in the market doesn’t immediately mean you’re able to deliver the best overall user experience. There are a lot of ingredients that make up the perfect smartphone dish, so we’re taking the new iQOO 12 for a taste test to see if it managed to get the perfect mix or if it just had too much on its plate to leave a positive impression.

Designer: iQOO

Aesthetics

The moment you see the iQOO 12, you will immediately appreciate its elegant design. After that first impression, however, you might suddenly feel like you’ve seen it before, especially with the black “Alpha” edition that we received for this review. Aside from the large and unconventional camera island, the phone’s Fluorite AG glass is quite common. Yes, it has a sandblasted finish that makes it sparkle when viewed from certain angles, but that, too, has been done before. It’s pretty, yes, but nothing to write home about.

On the other hand, the BMW “Legend” Edition is a bit more interesting from a design perspective. It uses a Porcelain Enamel Glass that gives it a unique texture, while the clean white motif endows it with a stylish classic appearance. The engraved signature BMW M Motorsport stripes are tastefully done, clearly marking its identity without being flashy. It has the right balance of branding and minimalism that paints a picture of a truly special design.

Although almost opposite in their appearances, both Alpha and Legend editions share a common design element that you won’t find on any other smartphone. Rather than a square or a circle, the iQOO 12 employs a “squircle” shape that the company describes as a nod to ship portholes that let light in and give a dramatic view of the outside world from within a ship. Of course, it stretches the camera metaphor quite a bit, but its unusual shape still gives the phone a distinctive appearance.

The iQOO 12 Alpha carries a simple and elegant design that gives it an air of being a premium phone. Unfortunately, that doesn’t exactly help it stand out from its peers, especially if you find the “porthole” camera design less appealing. The design won’t win fans, but it probably won’t attract haters either.

Ergonomics

Fluorite AG glass has become a favorite material for smartphones because of how it’s able to avoid smudges. Some are even able to pull off matte textures using it, or at least some semblance of matte texture. In practice, however, it’s still glass and the iQOO 12 feels quite slippery in the hand, regardless of what the marketing material tells you. If you’re not confident with your grip, you’ll probably want to put on the included clear case just for peace of mind.

The iQOO 12 is by no means a thin phone at 8.1mm, nor is it that lightweight at almost 204g. It’s a large slab of metal and glass and you can definitely feel it the moment you hold it in your hand. That means you’ll have to try and grip it harder to ensure a more stable hold, but that also means putting more strain on your hand in the long run. The phone is also a bit top-heavy, which isn’t surprising considering all the parts located there, though that means the position of the fingerprint scanner near the bottom of the screen makes it a little bit precarious to hold.

Performance

The iQOO 12 definitely has all the makings of a high-end smartphone. It is one of if not the first to launch with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, and that is paired with fast 16GB LPDDR5X memory and an equally fast 512GB UFS 4.0 storage. Those alone already mean that it can handle any task you throw at it with aplomb. The bright and vibrant 6.78-inch 2800×1260 AMOLED screen with 144Hz refresh rate is great for viewing moving content, both videos as well as games. It’s an all-around powerful workhorse, but it also has a trick up its sleeve.

While some brands have custom processors for photography or AI, iQOO’s Supercomputing Chip Q1 focuses on enhancing display performance without taxing the main Qualcomm processor. Its biggest achievement is boosting frame rates to 144fps to match the screen’s native 144Hz refresh rate for a smoother and more fluid visual experience. Even under all the stress, the phone gets only lightly warm and never too hot, all thanks to a new four-zone vapor cooling chamber.

On the software side, the iQOO 12 runs the latest FuntouchOS 14 that’s already based on the current Android 14 release, and it’s promised to still get three years of Android updates. There is surprisingly little bloatware, although it still exists, and the user experience almost resembles vanilla Android while still offering plenty of customization options. The UI is smooth and responsive, though that should be expected given all the hardware driving it.

1x

1x Night

10x

The phone’s triple camera system is living proof that you shouldn’t judge hardware by their brand. Eschewing the usual Samsung or Sony sensors (except for one), the iQOO 12 was made in collaboration with and showcases the best of what OmniVision has to offer, particularly with the 50MP OV50H main camera and 64MP OV64B telephoto camera with a periscope-style lens. The latter is able to achieve 3x optical zoom and 10x lossless zoom, though iQOO is advertising a 100x digital zoom that, in practice, isn’t really going to wow anyone. The third camera is a 50MP Samsung sensor for ultra-wide shots.

1x

1x Portrait

1x Portrait

10x Night

What all these translate to in practice are impressive images, both during the day and at night. Details are rich and colors are quite vibrant, though they tend to be a bit more saturated by default, as expected. The 10x lossless (a.k.a. hybrid) zoom is surprisingly good, though with the expected loss of detail. Combined with Night Mode, it even makes decent nighttime photos, though that largely depends on the subject as well. Thanks to that same periscope telephoto camera, bokeh or Portrait Mode comes out with pleasing blurs and accurate separation of foreground and background elements. All in all, the iQOO 12 delivers an excellent mobile photography experience, except for the 16MP front camera that brings only the bare minimum to the table.

Ultrawide

1x

3x

10x

Sustainability

The iQOO 12, unfortunately, doesn’t grade well when it comes to sustainable design and longevity. It has your usual assortment of unsustainable materials, and the brand isn’t as aggressive in promoting its eco-friendly strategies as its rivals (unless you consider its parent company, vivo). The phone is also only IP64 rated, which means it has very weak defenses against water and other liquids. Sure, it’s better than nothing, but you’d expect a much better guarantee from a premium phone such as this.

Value

From a holistic perspective, the iQOO 12 is quite a splendid high-end phone. It has the chops to cater to both photography and gaming enthusiasts and has a design that, while simple, is still stylish enough to not look cheap or dated. But no phone exists in isolation, and the iQOO 12’s value will largely depend on the competition.

At the moment, there are very few phones running on the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, but that’s about to change in a month’s time or so. But even now, those few devices, the iQOO 12 included, have very limited availability in the first place. The $600 price tag is tempting but pointless if you can’t buy one that is 100% guaranteed to work on your country’s cellular networks. There’s also the fact that the design, while pleasant, doesn’t have enough pull to make it stand out from the crowd unless you’re able to get the BMW Legend Edition. It’s definitely a strong contender, but not one that might leave a strong, lasting impression.

Verdict

The iQOO 12 feels like it has almost everything. It has the latest specs that breeze through the toughest demands, especially gaming. The cameras are generally impressive under the majority of situations, except for that disappointing 16MP selfie cam. It’s clearly iQOO’s best work yet, but it also feels like it lacks that final punch to knock everyone else out of the ring.

Despite its pleasant minimalist aesthetic, the Alpha Edition’s design is honestly a bit underwhelming. The porthole-inspired camera bump is new to our eyes and ears, but it’s simply just another take on the same old design. In terms of both style and materials, the BMW Legend Edition is far more interesting, though possibly also more limited in supply. Then again, not everyone will be buying phones just for their looks, and the iQOO 12 does make an enticing offer, but soon there will be others that will easily grab the spotlight from it.

The post iQOO 12 Review: Checking Most of the Right Boxes, No More, No Less first appeared on Yanko Design.

Realme GT5 Pro claims to recognize your palm print to unlock your phone

Posted on by

Fingerprint sensors and Face ID on smartphones are so common these days that we almost don’t give a second thought to how we unlock and authenticate with our devices. By now, many might have already forgotten the bad old days of “1234” PINs or no security measures at all, but some think that we could still do better in some ways. These security methods, after all, require you to at least touch your smartphone or hold it near your face, which isn’t always possible in all circumstances. When you need to unlock your phone from a distance, you’re pretty much out of luck, unless you own a Realme GT5 Pro that can apparently unlock your phone just by reading your palm.

Designer: Realme

Although face recognition technologies like Face ID do work from a short distance, you will need to either stoop down or have your phone at head level in the first place. If you’re in the kitchen cooking with the phone on the counter or have smudgy thumbs, neither fingerprints nor faces will be convenient or practical. Realme’s latest flagship tries to offer a third method where you can simply bring your palm near the screen and it will unlock automatically. You might think that it’s simply using a proximity sensor to detect if a hand is nearby, but the brand insists that isn’t the case.

1

It instead uses the 32MP front-facing camera to take an image of your palm and compare it to secure references, pretty much the same way optical fingerprint scanners work beneath the phone screen. Admittedly, the technology is still a bit new, especially in this kind of application, so there might be some hesitation in relying on it completely for security. Fortunately, there’s also the usual under-screen fingerprint scanner for more regular uses.

The Realme GT5 Pro also uses that system to enable hands-free control using hand gestures. A thumbs up can “Like” a post on a social media platform, a pinch can take you to the recent apps list, and flipping your palm can take you to the home screen. Considering you can’t really use your face for such actions, these gestures will be a huge help when you can’t touch your phone’s screen for one reason or another.

As far as the phone itself goes, the Realme GT5 Pro is quite a handsome device, with vegan leather white or orange variants as well a more classic matte black model. A large camera bump sits in the middle of that rear panel, designed to mimic the look and feel of a camera lens rim. At the moment, the smartphone is available only in China with an international launch to be announced later.

The post Realme GT5 Pro claims to recognize your palm print to unlock your phone first appeared on Yanko Design.

OnePlus 12 design is inspired by high-end watch-making craftsmanship

Posted on by

The OnePlus 12 has officially been announced, at least in China, and it matches almost everything that has been leaked previously. No, there is no wood grain model or case, but there is indeed a marble-like green variant on the table. Truth be told, there isn’t anything surprising or new with the OnePlus 12, at least in terms of overall design. It looks exactly like the OnePlus 11 before it, which ties in with the company’s less aggressive branding strategy. That’s not to say they’re exactly the same, of course, and OnePlus is trying to focus on the design story of the phone this time around. In particular, it’s homing in on how the OnePlus 12’s camera was inspired by the same creative and manufacturing processes used to make luxury timepieces as if these two product categories shared a common ancestor.

Designer: OnePlus

To be fair, manufacturers have thankfully started to pay as much attention to materials, colors, and aesthetics as watch-makers do for upscale timepieces. Of course, most of the conventions and practices don’t cleanly transfer between these two worlds, but there are definitely lessons that can be learned from both sides of the fence. Coincidentally, the OnePlus 12 does have one part that lends itself perfectly to that same watch-making expertise thanks to its circular camera bump that does look like a watch to some extent.

OnePlus spares no effort to illustrate how the OnePlus 12’s camera design takes a few pages from luxury watches, like using the same high-end machined aluminum casing for the camera island as well as the plate on top of the cameras. It also uses special laser engraving for the markings on the outer area of the plate, while utilizing a polishing process with micron-level precision for the semi-circular island to achieve an elegant appearance. This is then topped by a circular Gorilla Glass cover, completing the picture of a watch-like camera.

Of course, that story will probably be lost on most buyers who haven’t heard of it, but the OnePlus 12 is undoubtedly quite stunning even without that backstory. Unfortunately, the phone’s color options are rather unremarkable, except for the “emerald green” colorway that looks more like a slab of marble than a gem. The phone does have a classic appeal to it, with its curved back and equally curved screen, though that might also be just a kind way of saying “old”.

The OnePlus 12 is one of the first to carry the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, positioning it as a premium 2024 flagship. Despite appearances, it only has three cameras, a stacked 50MP main shooter, a 64MP telephoto camera with 3x lossless zoom, and a 48MP ultrawide with a 14mm equivalent lens. The other unnamed circle is pretty much a 3D ToF (Time-of-Flight) depth camera. Although now officially available in China, international markets will have to wait until next month to get their hands on the OnePlus 12 and its watch-inspired camera design.

The post OnePlus 12 design is inspired by high-end watch-making craftsmanship first appeared on Yanko Design.

All-screen iPhone with Under-Display Camera is coming but not too soon

Posted on by

Although notches and cutouts, including Apple’s Dynamic Island ‘pill,” have become the industry standard for cramming front-facing cameras and sensors on smartphones, they are hardly the ideal solution. Because of the blemish they put on the phone’s display, not to mention the area of unusable space they incur, they’re both unattractive and wasteful. The ideal solution and Holy Grail that designers and manufacturers have been chasing after is having no cutout at all, with the camera invisibly hidden beneath the screen. As many smartphones, including the Galaxy Z Fold series, demonstrate, that’s easier said than done. That said, everyone seems to be moving in that direction, including Apple, which might already be preparing for an iPhone that’s all-screen, coming in 3 or 4 years.

Designer: Apple (via The Elec)

Image courtesy of Samsung

Hiding a camera lens or other sensors beneath the screen is no easy task. A camera will need to capture light from the outside in order to actually form a picture, but a screen is mostly opaque so no light will reach it normally. This is why Under-Display Cameras (UDC) or Under-Panel Cameras (UPC) actually have a lower resolution in the area directly above the camera compared to the rest of the screen. A lower resolution means fewer pixels, which means some light will be able to pass through to the sensor beneath. At the same time, however, the resolution shouldn’t be too low that you can make out the individual pixels with the naked eye, destroying the illusion.

There are other technical considerations with UDCs, including how the display’s own illumination could bleed into the camera, a flaw that Samsung is probably too familiar with. With so many parts of the puzzle, it’s no wonder that Apple isn’t in a rush to adopt this rather young technology, even if other brands like Samsung and ZTE have already jumped on the bandwagon. It won’t hold off forever, of course, and it seems that the ball has started rolling for an iPhone with that design in 2027 at the earliest.

Image courtesy of MacRumors

According to industry sources, LG has started work on a solution to the deterioration of image quality due to the loss of light in under-display cameras. It’s designing a special lens that is composed of multiple lenses to be able to gather more light despite the screen’s pixels blocking most of the area. Of course, the technology is still under heavy development, so even if Apple were to use it, won’t be happening even in the next two years.

In fact, Apple is expected to first adopt a familiar circular punch-hole cutout for either the iPhone 16 Pro next year or the iPhone 17 Pro. The iPhone 17 Pro is also speculated to be the first to use an “Under Panel Face ID” technology before Apple finally jumps to an all-screen iPhone design after 2026, possibly with the iPhone 20 Pro, if that will be its name.

The post All-screen iPhone with Under-Display Camera is coming but not too soon first appeared on Yanko Design.

OPPO Find X7 camera design leak could leave you scratching your head

Posted on by

Camera bumps are one of the necessary evils of smartphone design. There’s a hard limit on how small you can make imaging sensors and lenses while also keeping the phone itself thin and light. Sometimes, this situation has resulted in ingenious and beautiful designs, but sometimes the mass of glass and metal protruding from the back of the phone ruins whatever beauty the rest of the design might have. These days, it’s no longer common to see unappealing camera designs, though there are a few rare cases that pop up from time to time. If this leak is true, however, OPPO’s next flagship will come with a rather odd design choice that will surely split camps and get the Internet talking.

Designer: OPPO (via Weibo)

OPPO Find X6 Pro

OPPO Find X5 Pro

To be fair, it’s difficult to design around those cameras that wouldn’t look obnoxious or even unusable. Unless you’re Samsung, which separates each camera into its own little island, the common strategy is to have a single raised structure, often called a “bump,” to visually group the cameras together. Coming up with a pleasing design for that is no walk in the park, but OPPO has had some very good results in that regard.

The OPPO Find X5, for example, used a single piece of ceramic for the back cover as well as the camera so that the bump is more of a gentle slope rather than an abrupt and independent structure. This year’s OPPO Find X6, on the other hand, used a very large circle, but it tried to imitate the aesthetics of a DSLR lens to give it a more familiar appearance. Given these two hits, it’s almost shocking to hear that the brand might be adopting something completely different and opposite to what they achieved.

Leaked hands-on photos of the alleged OPPO Find X7 reveal a gigantic camera bump with a hexagon shape we rarely see on other phones, at least not of late. It seems to have a two-step structure perhaps to give it a bit of a flair, something it definitely needs given this rather unappealing appearance. At this point, however, the device in the photo is most likely a prototype, which means there’s a chance it isn’t the final design. Given the rather raw and rough appearance, that is hopefully the case.

The extra large camera bump could be due to having two periscope-style telephoto cameras, another first in the industry, that would require even more space for the hardware. That speculation isn’t that far off considering how OPPO markets its Find X series as a mobile photographer’s tool. It seems that the rest of the phone’s design will be similar to the OPPO Find X6, especially the curved edge screen which is a dying breed in this new flat age. The OPPO Find X7 is expected to drop sometime in the first quarter of 2024, so there’s plenty of hope that the brand will adopt a more attractive design for that large camera bump.

The post OPPO Find X7 camera design leak could leave you scratching your head first appeared on Yanko Design.

Galaxy S24 designs unofficial look reveals familiar faces, subtle changes

Posted on by

We’re nearing the end of the year, which means almost all the new flagship phones for 2023 have already flown the coop. That also means that the Internet is seeing a constant stream of leaks and rumors about next year’s roster, especially the ones that will be ushering in the new year. As per tradition, Samsung will be opening the year with its own definition of a “bang,” with none other than the Galaxy S24 family to pave the way for 2024. But just like any flagship smartphone from any brand any year, this trio has already been leaked to death. The latest addition to that list is a bunch of official-looking unofficial images that uncover what the Galaxy S24 will look like, and it looks like it’s going to be a very flat affair.

Designer: Samsung (via Windows Report)

Galaxy S23 Family

In contrast to its practice a few years ago, Samsung seems to have mellowed down on making big changes to its flagship phones’ designs. The 2021 Galaxy S21 and the Galaxy S22 the year after were almost identical, while this year’s Galaxy S23 still looked slightly similar but ditched the “Contour Camera” bump for a more minimalistic design. It seems that the upcoming Galaxy S24 will continue that trend, preferring refinement over sensational changes in order to establish a stronger brand identity.

This new set of images of the Galaxy S24, Galaxy S24+, and Galaxy S24 Ultra match those rumors. They retain the basic design identity of the current Galaxy S line but have some subtle yet important changes as well. If there’s one word that could describe the Galaxy S24’s design, it would be that it has embraced the flat trend even further.

This is especially true with the Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24+, which now have nearly flat edges with chamfered corners where the front and glass back cover meet the frame. You can be sure that there will be a lot of criticism about Samsung copying Apple yet again, but it’s actually surprising it took this long to do that. In the meantime, a lot of other smartphone brands have already adopted this flat look, so it’s not like Samsung needs to be singled out.

The more important flat change, however, is with the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s screen which ditched the curved edge or “Infinity Edge” design of yesteryears. As mentioned before, this isn’t just a visual change, because it lets owners exploit all the screen space available, down to the last pixel at the edges. It’s a more usable design, especially for a smartphone that uses a stylus. Of course, all of these are still unofficial, but given all the “confirmation” we’re seeing on the Internet, it’s almost as good as gold. The Galaxy S24 lineup is expected to be announced on January 17th, 2024, though even that date isn’t official.

Galaxy S23 Family

The post Galaxy S24 designs unofficial look reveals familiar faces, subtle changes first appeared on Yanko Design.

Galaxy Z Fold 6, Z Flip 6 foldable phones might finally fix pain points

Posted on by

Foldable phones are getting more common these days, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have room for improvement. Whether it’s the larger book-type foldable or the stylish clamshell flip phone, there are still lingering concerns in terms of design and durability. Admittedly, there have been quite a few major improvements over the years thanks to increased competition in this market segment. Although it was a pioneer, it almost seemed that Samsung had been stagnating instead, sticking too close to safe designs. That changed with the Galaxy Z Flip 5 this year and it will keep changing for next year’s generation that are expected to introduce new screens that address some of those complaints.

Designer: Samsung (via Ross Young)

It’s not really that puzzling that Samsung decided to focus on improving the durability and reliability of its foldable phones over fancy features. After all, those are the biggest concerns buyers have when trying to sink their teeth into such an expensive investment. But four years after it first launched the Galaxy Fold, the basic design of this foldable phone hasn’t changed. In fact, one of the biggest complaints is how the external Cover Screen is too narrow, making it awkward and even difficult to use the phone as a regular phone when folded close.

According to industry sources, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 will have a wider Cover Screen to resolve this issue. An exact figure wasn’t given, but any additional width would be an improvement to the current design and put it on the same page as its rivals. Of course, this would translate to a change in the aspect ratio of the internal main display, which might end up looking more squarish than before.

The Galaxy Z Flip 6 is also getting a bigger Cover Screen, one that spans 3.9 inches diagonally versus the current 3.4 inches. This is being compared to the 4.0-inch iPhone 5s and iPhone SE (2016), which are the last small iPhones that Apple made. In theory, that means there will be more space for content, which opens the door for more apps as well.

Of course, that isn’t always the case in practice, because the screen aspect ratio and shape won’t be the same as an iPhone. And just like the Galaxy Z Flip 5 now, the kinds of apps that you can use on that external screen are very limited. There are no signs that Samsung will open up its Cover Screen to more apps the way the Motorola Razr does, so the impact of this change could be very minimal in the end.

The post Galaxy Z Fold 6, Z Flip 6 foldable phones might finally fix pain points first appeared on Yanko Design.

OnePlus 12 design revealed with a very familiar face, no wood grains in sight

Posted on by

Without much fanfare, OnePlus revealed the design that would mark its newest flagship, the OnePlus 12. While that two-digit number proves it’s no longer a young upstart, the brand is famed for outside-the-box thinking when it comes to design and materials. That’s not to say it always comes out with guns blazing, and zeal sometimes has to be tempered with practicality. Take for example the upcoming OnePlus 12 which is now officially confirmed to be using pretty much the exact same design as its predecessor. While that might not make for a sensational launch, it does give a sense of familiarity and stability. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be any sign of an earlier wooden grain shell, which could probably dampen a few excited expectations.

Designer: OnePlus

At this point, it might be difficult to pinpoint which company really started this camera design trend, but OnePlus has been doing some rather interesting experiments in the past years. In order to make the usual camera bump a little more interesting visually, the OnePlus 10 last year adopted a rather unique style where the camera’s raised bump actually continued and curved off to the side. This year’s OnePlus 11 mixed that up with the circular camera island design that made the phone look like it was wearing a monocle or an eyepatch.

The OnePlus 12 uses this exact same design with one small but important change. There are four sensors now, though one is most likely an RGB or 3D Time-of-Flight (ToF) sensor, so the flash had to move out of the enclosure, giving the camera a more symmetric appearance. Other than that, there are no big visible changes, which means that OnePlus is able to preserve its brand identity for one more generation. Admittedly, the design doesn’t appeal to everyone, but it’s hard to deny that it’s a distinctive one.

What OnePlus has officially revealed so far, however, doesn’t yet include the earlier leaked “wood grain shell,” which could either be a new variant or an official protective case. Instead, the OnePlus 12 will come in three colors with subtly different textures despite all being made from glass. White is compared to silk, black is likened to ceramic, while the green variant seems to be trying to pull off another marble-like aesthetic.

OnePlus hasn’t yet completely spilled all the beans regarding its upcoming flagship, so it’s a little too early to say if that’s all there is to it. Of course, in terms of hardware, it will have the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor to lead the way, and its photography roster is expected to include a 50MP main camera and a 64MP telephoto shooter with 3x optical zoom. The OnePlus 12 is scheduled to be officially announced in China next week, but a global date is expected on December 15.

The post OnePlus 12 design revealed with a very familiar face, no wood grains in sight first appeared on Yanko Design.