New Samsung Patent Design Shows Display Cutout For Front Camera

Samsung may have already delivered major redesigns for the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy Note 8, but it looks like another redesign is in the horizon. The company has been granted a patent for a new smartphone design and it looks like it’s taking a page from the Essential Phone and Apple's upcoming iPhone 8/Edition.

Dutch website Galaxy Club recently discovered that Samsung has submitted a patent application describing an all-display smartphone with a cutout on top for its sensors and front-facing camera. The patent application was approved by Korea Intellectual Property Rights information Service (KIPRIS), the South Korean equivalent of the US Patent & Trademark Office. Samsung’s patent was first filed on May 2016.

The accompanying illustration shows that Samsung wants to cut away a piece or two of the screen to make room for the phone’s earpiece. This kind of design has already been implemented by Essential for the PH-1, albeit a smaller display notch specifically for the front-facing camera.

The illustration is actually a bit closer to what the Apple iPhone Edition (or iPhone 8) might look like. Numerous leaks suggest that the iPhone Edition will have notch or a cutout on the top portion of the display where the front-facing camera and its sensors are placed. On either side of this cutout, there will be enough room to show the battery, cellular status and time.

Overall, the patent clearly shows Samsung’s desire to eliminate bezels from its phones entirely. The illustration shows the familiar edge-to-edge display, but this time there’s actually no room for a bottom bezel.

It’s important to point out that the accompanying illustration in the patent is a possible implementation, as pointed out by Phone Arena. If Samsung does decide to move forward with this kind of smartphone design, the notch or cutout could still be smaller or bigger.

There’s also no mention on which device will be getting this type of bezel-less design. It’s possible that this could be the Galaxy S9, but it could be something else entirely, as pointed out by Android Authority. Another thing to consider here is that this might not even end up becoming an actual product. Big companies like Samsung often patent a lot of stuff and it’s not really a guarantee of anything.

What’s truly important about this new patent is that, like other companies, Samsung is now interested in big displays and ultra thin bezels. The thin bezels trend officially began this year and it’s very likely that smartphone bezels are going to disappear over time.

The Samsung Galaxy S8 and Note 8 already have impressive designs with the company’s Infinity Display. The fingerprint sensor location is still seen as a disappointment by some, but no one can deny that the S8 and Note 8 are gorgeous-looking devices.

Samsung has already proven that it can make beautiful smartphone with ultra-thin bezels with the Galaxy S8 and Note 8, so it just really makes a lot of sense that the company would try to one up itself and possibly even its rivals.