Curved displays – practical or used just for looks?

Most people agree that curved displays look nice, but when it comes to their usefulness, that’s another story.

Ever since the Galaxy Note Edge in 2014, Samsung’s been betting hard on smartphones with curved displays. The Note Edge lead to devices like the S6 and S7 Edge, and then with the S8 this year, both the normal and Plus models are equipped with display edges that curve over the side.

It’s clear that Samsung isn’t going to stop curving its smartphone displays anytime soon, but that raises the question of whether or not there’s any real purpose to this trend. There’s no denying that curved displays on phones look nice, but do they offer any real benefit over ones without them?

One user recently posted this question in our forums, and this is what some of you had to say.

evohicks
11-27-2017 12:18 PM

“

I like the curved edges, its one of the reasons I bought it. Yes it’s a pain fitting screen protectors but I’ve removed mine so no issues for me, I think the curved edges look great, I’ve liked them since they were introduced on the Note edge, but the curves on the Note 8 are quite a bit steeper.

Reply

aldo82
11-27-2017 08:14 AM

“

I don’t see why they couldn’t have the edge panel functions with a flat screen. for me the edge screen has no function other than Samsung thinks it looks good and gives them a one over the other manufacturers. it’s fine though. my main issue with it is I think the screen is more vulnerable to drops as cases generally stay below the edges

Reply

srvctec
11-27-2017 08:16 AM

“

IMO, the curved edge is COMPLETELY a design over function thing. Please don’t try to convince me that you couldn’t have edge apps the same way they are now but on a flat screen instead. The screen doesn’t need to be curved to have a little touch sensitive button on it to be able to slide it over and utilize edge apps!! Yes, I use the function but it would still function perfectly fine if the…

Reply

daves221
11-27-2017 11:09 AM

“

I like the edge as I found the bezel on the note 4 really caused me to lose the ability to write near the bezel. I get much more use of the full screen with the rounded edge of the 8. So for me, I like it.

Reply

Now we’d like to hear from you – What are your thoughts on curved displays?

Join the conversation in the forums!

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The Morning After: Thursday, November 30th 2017

It’s a great time to update your Mac (seriously, do that ASAP), and we have a flood of car news out of the LA Auto Show.

Update immediately.
Apple fixed that nasty macOS security flaw

Within 24 hours of the world learning that getting root-level access on any Mac running High Sierra, Apple delivered a patch that closes the security hole. That doesn’t change the fact that the gap happened (or that some random poster on their support forums knew about it more than a week ago), but it does mean many people have an update they need to install — right now. We’ll be here when you get back.

Who pushed that button?
Meet the Twitter contractor who turned off Donald Trump’s account

Remember earlier this month when @realDonaldTrump disappeared for a few minutes? TechCrunch spoke to the person who apparently made that happen on his last day of work as a contractor. Bahtiyar Duysak has since returned to Germany but said that he worked in customer support with the Trust & Safety division when a report came in about Trump’s account. He “put things in motion” for the deactivation but called it a mistake and said he didn’t expect it to go through.

May contain mushrooms.
Prepare yourself for ‘Super Mario’ cereal

Kellogg’s and Nintendo have teamed up to ensure there’s no escape from its latest Mario game — not even in the supermarket. A Super Mario cereal is coming.

More range, less roof.
BMW debuts its i8 Roadster for top-down green driving

For 2019, BMW will update its i8 line with a convertible. Under the hood, its three-engine hybrid setup (two electric, one three-cylinder turbocharged) has also been tweaked to add 12 horsepower, while maintaining the equivalent of 70MPG.

$188,400.
Porsche’s 680HP hybrid is a sports car disguised as a station wagon

Once you get past the brute strength and Porsche styling, the Panamera is still an actual hybrid. It has an impressive pure-electric range of 30 miles powered by a 14.1kWh battery pack, plus a 192MPH top speed.

For many, the future of internet.
Verizon will launch 5G home internet access in 2018

Verizon’s 5G wireless will soon become a reality… if not quite the way you might expect. Big Red has announced it’s launching residential 5G broadband (that is, fixed-in-place wireless) in three to five markets, starting in the second half of 2018. Most details aren’t nailed down at this point, but the rollout will begin in Sacramento, California.

It’s no shock that Verizon is showing its cards so early. The carrier is in fierce competition with AT&T, which has also been trialing 5G and hopes to deploy it nationwide by the end of 2018.

The site will hold up to 12,000 people when it’s done.
Microsoft’s Redmond HQ is getting a multi-billion dollar makeover

You’ve seen Apple’s jaw-dropping spaceship campus, and cities nationwide are lining up to be Amazon’s second home, but now it’s time for Microsoft to renovate. Over the next five-to-seven years, the company will construct 18 new buildings, add 6.7 million square feet of renovated workspace, and pump $150 million into transportation improvements and recreational facilities alone.

It actually does respond to voice commands.
Jim Beam’s smart decanter will pour you a shot when you ask

In a bid for Domino’s Pizza’s crown for most tangential tech PR stunt, Jim Beam has announced a shot-pouring smart decanter that will answer all your questions… about bourbon.

But wait, there’s more…

• LA Auto Show 2017: The 2018 CLS will be Mercedes’ smartest coupe yet
• LA Auto Show 2017: VW’s 302-horsepower I.D. Crozz EV will come to the US in 2020
• Trump retweets violent anti-Muslim propaganda
• EPA confirms Tesla’s Model 3 has a range of 310 miles
• Amazon’s latest Prime perk is an early ‘Jumanji’ screening

The Morning After is a new daily newsletter from Engadget designed to help you fight off FOMO. Who knows what you’ll miss if you don’t Subscribe.

Craving even more? Like us on Facebook or Follow us on Twitter.

Have a suggestion on how we can improve The Morning After? Send us a note.

BBC launches VR division with ISS spacewalk experience

The BBC is getting serious about VR content production. Today, the broadcaster has released a spacewalk experience and formally announced a VR team that will work with filmers, showrunners and “digital experts” on new pieces. Home — A VR Spacewalk was developed by the BBC and digital production studio Rewind for the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift last year. It’s based on NASA and European Space Agency (ESA) training programs — yes, the same ones used by astronaut Tim Peake — and takes you through a repair on the outside of the ISS. It’s been shown at various film festivals but hasn’t been available to the public before today.

The BBC has experimented with VR before. Early projects included We Wait, a story that took you to the heart of a refugee crisis, The Turning Forest, a VR fairy tale for Google Daydream and Samsung Gear VR, and Trafficked, a 360-degree animated film about human trafficking. While impressive, the BBC’s efforts have often felt a little disjointed and scattershot. The broadcaster’s new team — the VR Hub — will attempt to organise this work and develop experiences with broad, mainstream appeal. They’ll be infrequent, however; the BBC says it wants “a small number of high impact pieces” while the VR install base continues to grow.

Via: BBC (Press Release)

Source: Steam, Oculus

Google’s Datally can help limit your data usage

Google has released a new Android app that can help you monitor and control the amount of data you use. Datally shows your real-time data usage for each application inside a bubble icon and gives you an easy way to block it from using more in the meantime. It shows your daily usage in a bar graph (for you, stats fans) and will send you notifications to switch its data saver function on in case it’s currently switched off. And to stay true to its purpose, Google has also given it the ability to find WiFi hotspots you can connect to.

Some of those features are already available for Android phones, but Google, which trademarked the name last year, has decided to compile them into one easy-to-access location. According to Reuters, Datally was created by Google’s Next Billion Users, a division that focuses on making the internet more accessible in developing nations. Indeed, something that can closely monitor app use can be a godsend for those in places where buying prepaid credits for texting, calling and data is the norm.

Despite its intended target audience, Datally sounds useful for anyone with throttled “unlimited” mobile data plans in the US and other developed nations, as well. The app is now available for download on Google Play, if you want to give it a shot — the big G claims you can use up to 30 percent less data than you usually do when you install it.

Source: Google Play, YouTube

‘infltr’ Photo App Gains Filtered Video Recording Feature and New Editing Tools

Award-winning photo editing app infltr received an update on Wednesday that adds a number of notable new features, including support for recording filtered videos.

The new video recording mode appears beside the regular camera shutter button within the app, and joins infltr’s existing support for capturing Live Photos, depth photos, and raw photos.

Before (left) and after examples of depth editing in infltr
The new video mode also brings the ability to flip the recording between the front and rear camera using a simple double tap on the screen, so users recording a selfie video can switch to show their surroundings. With version 2.12, infltr also allows the iPhone’s torch mode to be turned on and off during recording.

With iOS 11 and the iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X, Apple introduced five Portrait Lighting effects that make use of depth information. infltr’s latest update enhances its existing depth editing functions with a new solid color overlay tool, so users can change the background or foreground of depth photos in pre- or post-production editing modes. Unlike Apple’s Portrait Lighting effect, infltr’s approach works with the iPhone 7 Plus camera and on any devices that have saved depth photos.

Elsewhere, the update brings 25 new color blend modes, a new sharpen tool, an auto-straighten photo tool, and the ability to share photos taken in the app directly to Instagram.

infltr costs $1.99 and can be downloaded for iPad and iPhone (with Apple Watch support) from the App Store. [Direct Link]

Tag: infltr
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Google Facing UK Lawsuit Over Alleged Tracking of Safari Users Between 2011-12

Google is facing a collective lawsuit in the United Kingdom over its alleged snooping of iPhone users, according to a new report in the Financial Times. According to the lawsuit, led by a former director of the consumer group Which?, Google illegally gathered the personal data of millions of iPhone users in the U.K. between 2011 and 2012.

Veteran consumer rights campaigner Richard Lloyd alleges the search giant bypassed the default privacy settings on Apple’s smartphones which allowed it to track the online behavior of users browsing in Safari. Google then allegedly used the data in its DoubleClick business, which lets advertisers target content based on user browsing habits.

Original explanation of the “Safari Workaround” in 2012 WSJ article
The lawsuit, filed in London’s High Court, claims Google’s “Safari Workaround” breached the U.K. Data Protection Act by taking personal information without permission.

“In all my years speaking up for consumers, I’ve rarely seen such a massive abuse of trust where so many people have no way to seek redress on their own,” said Mr Lloyd, who has set up a group called Google You Owe Us.

Google said: “This is not new – we have defended similar cases before. We don’t believe it has any merit and we will contest it.”

The case Google refers to occurred in the U.S. in 2012, after it and several other advertising agencies were discovered to be circumventing privacy protections in Safari for iOS in order to track users through ads on numerous popular websites.

At the time, Safari blocked several types of tracking, but made an exception for websites where a person interacted in some way — by filling out a form, for example. Google added coding to some of its ads that made Safari think that a person was submitting an invisible form to Google, and thus Safari let Google install a cookie on the user’s phone.

Google halted the practice once it was reported by the Wall Street Journal, but argued that the tracking was unintentional and did not harm consumers. However, that didn’t wash with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, and the company was forced to pay a record $22.5 million fine over its use of the tactic.

Around 5.4 million people in Britain are said to have owned an iPhone between June 2011 and February 2012, when Google’s “Safari Workaround” was active, and could be eligible for compensation, according to the U.K. lawsuit.

Today’s news also marks the first time a collective action has been brought in the U.K. against a leading tech company over alleged misuse of data. “Collective action” is where one person represents a group with a shared grievance, similar to a class action lawsuit in the U.S.

Lloyd, who has secured £15.5 million ($20.8 million) in funds from a litigation company, said he expected each claimant would receive several hundred pounds in the event that they win the case. As a ballpark figure, a claim by 5.4 million people for £500 each would result in a £2.7 billion ($3.63 billion) payout for Google.

“We think there is a massive gap in the law in terms of consumer redress around data rights being breached,” said Lloyd. He hoped the legal battle would result in a clear set of guidelines and precedent for consumers as to how they could act collectively in similar future cases.

Tags: United Kingdom, lawsuits
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More Smartphone Vendors Likely to Adopt OLED Panels if Burn-in Issue Can Be Solved

OLED panels are expected to penetrate up to 30 percent of the smartphone display market by 2018 through increasing adoption by smartphone vendors, according to industry sources (via DigiTimes).

The supply of OLED panels will remain constrained in the first half of 2018 as Samsung Display will continue to be the sole supplier that can mass-produce the panels, while rivals including LG Display, Japan Display (JDI) and Sharp may start volume production of OLED panels in the second half of 2018 at the earliest, indicated the sources.

Tellingly, that penetration rate could climb higher if the burn-in issue related to OLED panels could be solved, according to cited sources. Multiple reports surfaced in October about potential screen burn-in or image retention issues with Google’s new Pixel 2 XL smartphone.

For its part, Apple says the iPhone X has been engineered to be the “best in industry” at reducing burn-in effects, but a support document published by Apple suggests burn-in is still a problem that some users could potentially see over time.

Apple will launch a trio of new iPhone models in 2018, including 5.8-inch and 6.5-inch models with OLED displays and a 6.1-inch model with an LCD display, according to respected KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

Apple has reportedly also expressed interest in buying advanced LCD panels from Japan Display for use in some of its iPhones next year. OLED displays offer sharper contrast and brighter colors than traditional LCD panels, but cost and supply issues are an ongoing concern for Apple, and are likely to slow down any full transition to the technology.

Japan Display’s advanced LCD panels, which it calls Full Active LCDs, are said to match or exceed some of OLED’s advantages at a lower cost, and Apple is interested in procuring them for use in at least some iPhones set to debut in its 2018 smartphone line-up, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Meanwhile, supply constraints of OLED panels are providing current TFT-LCD makers with additional time to seek alternatives to further strengthen their competitiveness, said DigiTimes’ sources.

Related Roundup: iPhone XTag: OLEDBuyer’s Guide: iPhone X (Buy Now)
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CBS might turn ‘Entertainment Tonight’ into its own streaming service

CBS has been getting more bold with its streaming offerings, notably putting Star Trek Discovery exclusively on its All Access platform. But it seems the network is considering another standalone services to add to its portfolio. Today, CBS Corp CEO Leslie Moonves said that the company is thinking about launching one next year based on its long-running show Entertainment Tonight.

“We’ve talked about next year launching a 24-hour entertainment news service based on our show ‘ET,’” Moonves said today during Variety’s Innovate Summit. But the CEO didn’t elaborate further about the potential streaming service. Should it become a reality, it would be CBS Corp’s fourth such service following Access, the ad-supported online news platform CBSN and upcoming streaming sports channel slated to come out this year.

Source: Variety

EE’s £150 all-glass Hawk phone offers super-fast 4G

A little more than a week ago we caught wind of a new own-brand smartphone by EE. Today, that device is official — it’s called the Hawk and will run you £150 on pay-as-you-go, or zilch with a two-year contract starting at £14.99 per month. That’s a tad more expensive than we were expecting (our little birdie pegged it closer to £100), but otherwise the Hawk contains few surprises. Up front is a 5-inch, 720p display running Android Nougat 7.1 (no word on Android Oreo), while a 1.5Gz, octa-core Mediatek 6750 processor and 2GB of RAM keep everything ticking over.

The device is essentially all-glass, save for the camera module and fingerprint scanner on the rear side. It looks nice enough (provided you don’t mind the EE logo) but doesn’t do much to set itself apart from the competition. And while we’re talking about cameras — it’s a 13-megapixel shooter on the back, paired with an 8-megpixel selfie snapper on the front. Given the phone’s price-tag, we expect they’ll fall somewhere in the poor to mediocre range. Finally, there’s a 2,500mAh battery inside, which EE says can last 10 hours on a single charge. Your mileage will vary, of course.

For the money, you could buy a similarly specced Moto E4, or splash a little extra on the impressive Moto G5 (it’s currently on sale at £159). The latter has a superior 1080p display, a Snapdragon 430 processor and a 2,800 mAh battery. So why bother with the Hawk? Well, the phone is also Cat-6 capable. That means it can take full advantage of EE’s LTE-Advanced network and reach download speeds of up to 300Mbps. It’s unlikely, of course, that you’ll ever experience such speeds — but still, if on-the-go streaming and downloads are important to you, it’s something to consider.

Oops! Computer glitch lets too many American Airlines pilots take Christmas off

Computers. Aren’t they supposed to make our lives easier?

Officials at American Airlines must be using a few choice words about the company’s computer systems this week after it emerged that a glitch allowed too many of its pilots to book time off over the Christmas period.

As a result of the hiccup, American is now frantically trying to persuade its pilots to change their plans and come in to work during one of the busiest times of the year.

In a statement, the carrier said it’s “working diligently to address the issue and expect to avoid cancellations this holiday season.”

The Allied Pilots Association (APA) estimated that more than 15,000 American flights scheduled between December 17 and 31 have been affected by the computer error.

APA spokesperson Dennis Tajer, speaking to CNBC on Wednesday, said there is currently “a crisis at American for manning the cockpits.”

He added that the computer system “went from responsibly scheduling everybody, to becoming Santa Claus to everyone. The computer said, ‘Hey ya’ll, you want the days off? You got it.’”

In an effort to get pilots to alter their plans and climb back into the cockpit over Christmas, American is offering 150 percent of their hourly rate on some routes. It’s also calling on its roster of reserve pilots to help out.

American is by no means the only carrier that’s had to deal with computer glitches over the last couple of years. In January 2017, both Delta and United were hit with issues that caused flight delays across the U.S.

Delta had an even bigger problem in the summer of 2016 when a computer system outage at its hub in Georgia, Atlanta, resulted in the cancelation and grounding of flights around the world.

The technical issues are an indication of the sheer complexity of the computer systems powering the airlines’ global operations, with every glitch, bug, and snag costing an affected carrier potentially millions of dollars, along with a hit to their reputation.

Flying with American between December 17 and 31? Then you’d better consider contacting the airline to make sure your plane has a pilot.

If you fear the worst, check out DT’s informative piece about what you can do when a tech meltdown grounds your flight.

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