After it emerged that the Vivo NEX 3 will debut later this year with over 100% screen-to-body ratio, sister company Oppo has beaten Vivo to the official announcement of something similar that it calls a ‘Waterfall Screen’ with a curvature of up to 88 degrees.
The shared images tend to suggest the phone in question is the final product and not a prototype, but we are yet to set our eyes on the back panel. Through the images we’ve seen, though, it’s indeed clear that the screen-to-body ratio is higher than usual given that the screen wraps around the edges of the handset, in the process eliminating the side-mounted buttons.
The curved edges go beyond what we’ve seen on Samsung Galaxy flagships, which means the power button now sits at the top. While there’s no doubt this is some cool stuff, it remains to be seen what the curved part adds to the overall user experience.
Taking borderless smartphone innovation to new heights, we're thrilled to give you a first look at 'Waterfall Screen' technology. 🤯
What do you think the screen-to-body ratio is on this prototype? 😏 pic.twitter.com/99AQKh9ZgH
— OPPO (@oppo) July 29, 2019
The top and bottom have very thin symmetrical bezels and there’s also no notch or hole punch. It’s unclear of Oppo will still use one of the various designs it has to pop up the selfie camera, but some quotas believe the under-display selfie it demoed recently could feature on this phone. Now that would be super impressive.
Oppo hasn’t said much about the hardware side of things of this device. But given the IFA 2019 isn’t too far away, we are likely to see more of the Waterfall Screen at this event.
Even so, this will just be another glimpse into the future given that Oppo’s first smartphone with a Waterfall Screen isn’t expected until 2020.
Oppo Waterfall Screen [Image gallery]
