Skip to main content

Opinion: I couldn’t be happier Samsung is ditching curved screens w/ Galaxy S20

Leaks of Samsung’s Galaxy S20 have been hitting the web all week, but there’s one I couldn’t be more excited about. After five generations of madness, Samsung is ditching curved screens on the Galaxy S20.

Going back to the Galaxy S6 years, Samsung introduced the Galaxy S6 Edge, a phone with two curved sides and a curved AMOLED display underneath to match. Visually, it’s a gorgeous look and technically, a pretty big achievement.

The S6 Edge led to Samsung releasing an S7 Edge the following year, but both times also offering versions of the phone with “flat” 2.5D glass instead of curved displays. After that, though, Samsung went all-in on the design. The ill-fated Note 7 was only available with a curved display. So was the Galaxy S8. So was the S9. So was the Note 8, and so on, with every single one of Samsung’s flagships in the time since.

Is that a problem? For a lot of people, it’s absolutely not. The curved design is unique and looks great. Samsung even took advantage of the design with some genuinely handy software features.

The Galaxy S6 Edge brought this fad to the masses

Personally, though, I’ve always hated this design. Slimming bezels and going curved always seems to give me problems with touch rejection. The curved glass also makes the phones just a bit harder to pick up. Plus, curved screens cause visual distortion and issues with color around the “drop-off,” too. It doesn’t matter how good the underlying screen is, this is always a problem.

The worst part, though, is that this design makes good screen protectors basically impossible. I get it, screen protectors aren’t for everyone, but they’ve saved my phones from scratches or cracks on numerous occasions. There’s a reason why millions upon millions of users put screen protectors on their device and, for the longest time, Samsung’s curved screens have made that difficult and expensive.

The Galaxy Note 10 might be the last with a curved screen

The good news? Samsung is ditching curved screens with the Galaxy S20. Or, at least, that’s according to rumors. Max Weinbach has been leaking the Galaxy S20 quite a lot this past week, and according to his source, the Galaxy S20+ uses 2.5D glass instead of curved glass. This is more like what Apple uses on iPhones and what Google has used to varying extents on the Pixel series.

Thank you Samsung!

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

You’re reading 9to5Google — experts who break news about Google and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Google on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Don’t know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

Manage push notifications

notification icon
We would like to show you notifications for the latest news and updates.
notification icon
You are subscribed to notifications
notification icon
We would like to show you notifications for the latest news and updates.
notification icon
You are subscribed to notifications