Eat an Apple, Android users: Your 2022 phone might look and feel like an iPhone

In fact, although you might not realize it, because of the sleek implementation, even Samsung has somewhat flattened the sides of one of its most recent flagships. I’m referring to the Galaxy Z Flip 3. If you inspect the sides of the phone from a closer distance and you run your fingers across the frame, you’ll see that this one’s now much flatter than it used to be. Sure, not iPhone-flat, but definitely not nearly as curvy as the Galaxy S21 series.

And of course, an addition that made the last minute door call to this story, Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy S22 and S22+ phones! Although from the back the S22 looks quite similar to the Galaxy S21 series, it’s from the front and side views where we start to see something a little bit different. At least according to the recently-leaked dummy units, which we’ve seen on video, as well as renders from reliable sources. Again, Samsung hasn’t gone all-in on the flat vogue, but it’s much, much closer than before.

All of this tells me that it’s just about time we get the first big bucketful of iPhone 13-like Android flagships dumped on us. Samsung aside, Vivo’s already jumped ahead of time, and gone to created what looks like the leaked renders of the iPhone 14 Pro. We don’t know if the phone will ever make it out of this very video teaser, but it looks rather similar to the supposed 2022 iPhone, leaked by Jon Prosser in September. What will make it to the shelves in Chinese stores though is the Vivo S23 series, with at least one member of the S23 family being... flat.

iPhone-inspired flat sides and Galaxy-inspired curved screens: Smartphone influencers

If you’re a regular PhoneArena reader, I’m sure this won’t be the first time you’re coming across this debate. Some of my colleagues like curved screens and curvy frames and some don’t. Lately, I tend to take a more nuanced position, and I’ll tell you why.

For one, flat sides look fresh. Just like the classic black leather jacket, or a pair of jeans from a particular era, some smartphone design elements seem to be kicking in and out of fashion, and coming for a second spin. And just like when a major fashion brand starts a trend that other brands end up copying, Apple’s managed to make flat phones cool “20 Pro” again.

Of course, when talking about flat phone frames, it’s only fair that we acknowledge the flatness of the displays, which reminds me that it wasn't long ago, when another major smartphone player - Samsung pushed the industry towards curved displays. This trend seems to still be prevalent even now, as some very recent flagship phones like the Google Pixel 6 Pro, OnePlus 9 Pro, and Samsung’s soon-to-be Galaxy S22 Ultra retain and embrace the curved display as a symbol of being more premium... I guess?

There’s always been something appealing about the look of an edgeless curved display. This effect is particularly striking with Huawei’s P40 Pro series, which achieved what the Chinese company called a 3D curve. The P40 Pro and P40 Pro+ flagships were curved not only on the sides but also on the top and bottom, creating the illusion of a truly edgeless, melting on the sides screen. This is a good part of the reason the P40 Pro is on top of my wishlist of devices that I never got to own. It just looks sooo good.

Curved displays and flat chassis: Pros and cons

Curves have their practical advantages over flat sides. Using gestures to navigate your phone, such as swiping up and down the bottom edge and using the back gesture on Android and iOS, will always be more accommodating on a curved display.

However, where flat sides win is with other practicalities such as palm rejection sensitivity and when you interact with content that happens to live in the very edges of your display. While palm-rejection has gotten much better compared to its Galaxy Note Edge and S7 series days, it’s still not flawless. For example, my Pixel 6 Pro seems to be pretty stable, but my Huawei P30 Pro definitely runs into some noticeable palm-rejection trouble every now and then.

The other thing that many won’t tell you is that a curved screen doesn’t give you the same assurance as a flat panel when it comes to interacting with content that happens to be on the edges of the screen. For instance, every time I attempt to copy text, which starts from the far left of the screen (at least with Latin languages), I often get it right on the second or even third try. That’s likely because the phone (in this case Pixel 6 Pro) thinks my finger is my palm that needs to get “rejected”.

On the flip side, flat phones don’t really get along with cases, especially thicker ones. If the screen is already leveled with the phone frame, adding a case with raised edges will not only protect it but also make it more difficult to navigate, using the same gestures that we talked about above. Your finger will run into the case edges every time you try to use gestures. Then if you don't have a case on, it's likely that a flat frame (not screen) will dig into your hand...

Ultimately: Flat or curved smartphones?

It seems like there’s no right or wrong answer to the question of whether flat sides are better than curved sides, or if flat displays are superior to curved ones. What’s for sure is that Apple went flat, and (unsurprisingly) Android followed suit.

Now, will Samsung, OnePlus, Google and Xiaomi fully embrace the iPhone 13's boxy design language with their future flagship phones? Of course, there isn't an outright answer, but the industry moves swiftly, so don’t be shocked if we see leaks of “top Android flagships gone flat” soon.

Also, we shouldn’t forget that design isn’t just looks. There’s aesthetic design and there’s practical design. In my smartphone world, we need at least slight curves on our screens to make gesture-based UI navigation feel more natural. Especially, when you have a case on your phone.

Huawei’s aforementioned 3D curve from the P40 Pro series is the closest thing that comes to mind. If the curves are subtle enough, this might also allow manufactures to make the actual frame of the phone flat, without compromising the current trends in aesthetic design. I guess what I'm trying to say is... there’s always a way.

What do you think? Should we thank Apple for bringing back flat, boxy phones, or should we be mad at the trendsetters from Cupertino? Also, what’s the right smartphone design recipe, according to your taste?