We’re finally done with silly season in the smartphone industry after getting bombarded with new releases every week. Now, everyone’s focus has diverted on to the big smartphone releases for next year. The Samsung Galaxy S11 is already gaining momentum on the hype train. Samsung’s flagship series has arguably managed to become the most complete package in the smartphone industry thanks to Samsung’s no sacrifice approach.
The Galaxy S11, unlike the S10 series, will be a much more iterative update. Samsung usually works on a two year cycle for bigger changes on its smartphones so we can expect the S11 to be a much more refined version of the Galaxy S10. Internally, the jump to the newer Snapdragon 865 is also pretty much guaranteed at this point. However, apart from that, we don’t know much about the future Samsung flagship.
Samsung Galaxy S11 will not feature a waterfall display contrary to earlier reports
As with any upcoming smartphone, leaks and rumours are inevitable. We’re getting closer to the eventual release for the Galaxy S11, and thus the leaks are ramping up as well. Initially, most people thought that Samsung would be doubling down on the display this year with smaller bezels and curvier edges. It made sense as well as the super-curved waterfall displays are the bee’s knees in the smartphone world these days.
We’ve already seen devices like the Huawei Mate 30 Pro use the new waterfall display that wraps around the edges. However, Samsung has decided to not use waterfall displays on the Galaxy S11. This revelation came from a tipster who said that while having a waterfall display adds beauty to the phone, it does hinder a lot of functionality and Samsung is going for the same philosophy.
In addition to that, the Galaxy S11 will also be moving to a Note 10 styled camera cutout in the display rather than the one on the Galaxy S10. Furthermore, the company also hopes to narrow down the cutouts making the screen just that little bit more immersive and uniform. The design decision by Samsung came as a surprise for many though as the company isn’t really known for preferring functionality over looks.
Should waterfall displays be a thing?
Waterfall displays look absolutely gorgeous and stunning on a smartphone; there are no doubts about that. However, that beauty comes at a cost which a lot of people are not willing to pay. When the display wraps so much around the sides of the phone, you lose a bunch of things like the buttons placed on the side of the phone. The world just isn’t ready for a phone without physical power and volume buttons.
Additionally, if the screen extends to the sides, you won’t really have much space to put your hands on while holding the phone. Unintentional touch input is already a pretty big problem with Samsung smartphones using curved displays. While there are software solutions that somewhat prevent accidental touches, they still are nowhere near as efficient as just having a flat display.
Furthermore, it is actually really hard to find good cases and tempered glass protectors for phones with excessively curved displays. So, combining all these factors together, Samsung decided to not include a waterfall display on the Galaxy S11. However, that does not mean that the phone will not have a curved display at all. We can still expect the same Samsung design language across the board with slightly narrower bezels than the Note 10 this time around.
Other than the display, there are also some rumours around the S11 having a vastly improved 108 MP camera sensor and 8K video recording capabilities. In terms of performance, the new Snapdragon 865 chip was also seen destroying its counterparts in leaked benchmarks. So, everything else considered, it seems like the Samsung Galaxy S11 might just be the perfect smartphone we’ve all been waiting for.
The Samsung Galaxy S11 will reportedly be revealed around February with the eventual launch in March of next year.
Do you think that waterfall displays have actual utility on smartphone or are they just a gimmick that smartphone companies should get rid of as soon as possible? Let us know in the comments below!