Why iOS 10 confirms an edge-to-edge iPhone display

[SuperKerem]

Firstly, I wasn't sure whether to post in the iOS 10 or iPhone subforum. Assuming that not all iPhone subforum users know what iOS 10 looks like, I thought this would be a safer bet.

Take a look at the new Control Centre. Look at how notifications appear. Look at the new widgets view.

What do they have in common? They are all bubble-shaped 'overlays', all a few millimetres away from the screen edge. This contrasts the edge-to-edge design that was a keystone of iOS 7-9, something constantly praised at various Apple events and even on Apple's website IIRC.

Why was this the case? Because an edge-to-edge layout is perfect for all current iPhones. They already have a physical bezel which keeps content away from the edge of the phone. Screen real-estate should be used to its maximum potential.

Therefore, with that said, it seems rather convenient that iOS 10 features an artificial bezel throughout the OS as I described above. This, to me at least, is to accommodate for an edge-to-edge iPhone display.

The benefits of an edge-to-edge (OLED) display are maintained (watching video, games etc.) whilst preventing the annoying aspect of content being covered up by the grip of your hand. In this scenario, the edge-to-edge layout featured in the last three versions of iOS would be unsuitable.

The downside to this is that all current iPhones designed for an edge-to-edge OS are going to slightly suffer with the new UI. Any thoughts?

 

[skwood]

That seems like a sound and reasoned conclusion, but we're probably not going to see an edge-to-edge display until next year most likely, so why introduce it now?

 

[C DM]

In my mind it's just more about consistency between iOS and macOS (and perhaps their other OSs), which is something that Apple has been moving closer and closer to in various respects.

 

[TurboPGT!]

It just looks better. Thats all there is to it.

iPhone's have some bezel, because its better than no bezel. I realize some armchair desiners would love to see all kinds of hypothetical things on hypothetical phones...but no, bezels serve a purpose, and they are not going anywhere...least of all to satisfy the curiosity of people who can't use their imagination to identify the drawbacks.

 

[SuperKerem]

It just looks better. Thats all there is to it.

iPhone's have some bezel, because its better than no bezel. I realize some armchair desiners would love to see all kinds of hypothetical things on hypothetical phones...but no, bezels serve a purpose, and they are not going anywhere...least of all to satisfy the curiosity of people who can't use their imagination to identify the drawbacks.

Did you even read what I wrote? I literally said that having no bezels can cause issues, therefore artificial OS 'bezels' have essentially been built into iOS 10.

Jony Ive has always said he wanted the front of an iPhone to feel like an interactive pane of glass. "iPhones have a [physical] bezel because it's better than not having one"... there's no justification there and it's simply your opinion.

There really is no other explanation for this, Apple has always been about edge-to-edge content and having an additional (OS) bezel in addition to the physical bezel provides no benefit whatsoever, "it just looks better" is a rather naïve way of approaching this.

With flagship Android phones having edge-to-edge displays, it's not surprising that Apple is preparing to do the same with iOS 10.

 

[C DM]

There really is no other explanation for this, Apple has always been about edge-to-edge content and having an additional (OS) bezel in addition to the physical bezel provides no benefit whatsoever, "it just looks better" is a rather naïve way of approaching this.

Seems like more consistency between macOS and iOS (and other OSs) would be a plausible/rational explanation for something like that as well, wouldn't it?

 

[SuperKerem]

Seems like more consistency between macOS and iOS (and other OSs) would be a plausible/rational explanation for something like that as well, wouldn't it?

You mean watchOS? The AW has an OLED display. It literally saves battery by having larger bezels and using up less screen real estate.

As for macOS, edge-to-edge content was never feasible there anyway.

Maybe what you say could be partially true for notifications and widgets, but the new Control Centre design is harder to justify with that argument.

 

[C DM]

You mean watchOS? The AW has an OLED display. It literally saves battery by having larger bezels and using up less screen real estate.

As for macOS, edge-to-edge content was never feasible there anyway.

Maybe what you say could be partially true for notifications and widgets, but the new Control Centre design is harder to justify with that argument.

Why would it be harder to justify for it to be more consistent with the rest of the design of notifications and widgets and other similar "panels"/"spaces" that also appear in macOS (like for Siri and Notification Center, for example)?

 

[SuperKerem]

Why would it be harder to justify for it to be more consistent with the rest of the design of notifications and widgets and other similar "panels"/"spaces" that also appear in macOS (like for Siri and Notification Center, for example)?

Well, Notification Center on OS X is edge-to-edge on all sides but one. The appearance of Siri on OS X is comparable to a regular app/window.

Apple is working towards a major redesign next year. I very much doubt they are going to keep the obnoxious bezels we have today. Even without these 'hints' in iOS 10, I had very little doubt. For me, this seems oddly convenient.

And even if not edge-to-edge, the larger bezels would work for iPhone OLED displays as they do with the AW.

 

[C DM]

Well, Notification Center on OS X is edge-to-edge on all sides but one. The appearance of Siri on OS X is comparable to a regular app/window.

Apple is working towards a major redesign next year. I very much doubt they are going to keep the obnoxious bezels we have today. Even without these 'hints' in iOS 10, I had very little doubt. For me, this seems oddly convenient.

And even if not edge-to-edge, the larger bezels would work for iPhone OLED displays as they do with the AW.

Sure, all of that might very well be the case, I was simply saying that the design does seem to have some other plausible explanations behind it (like that simply being the new more consistent design that is getting adopted in more and more places across different OSs). It doesn't really rule anything out as far as your idea, simply that not necessarily anything definitive or anything like that as there can be other reasons.

 

[SuperKerem]

Sure, all of that might very well be the case, I was simply saying that the design does seem to have some other plausible explanations behind it (like that simply being the new more consistent design that is getting adopted in more and more places across different OSs). It doesn't really rule anything out as far as your idea, simply that not necessarily anything definitive or anything like that as there can be other reasons.

Fair enough!

 

[LordQ]

Interesting thought indeed. Since someone mentioned why implement it now, take a look at 'swipe to go back', introduced in iOS 7 and talked about in the iPhone 6 (iOS 8) keynote, same for the iPad multitasking before iPad Pro was revealed.

 

[iLive]

I see your argument, but I think the design is to apply more logic to iOS.

With iOS 10, you now have UI elements that resemble physical objects. Instead of just being text, the text now appears inside a bubble/window. This provides the user with an illusion that this can be moved since it's detached from the background. That's why you can now press, move around etc. these new notification windows.

I think it's interesting how Apple decides to go away from their (as you call it) highly praised design. But thinking about it, I believe Apple just wants to apply logic to the UI so it becomes more responsive and easier to understand and learn.

 

[idrisinan]

I think it will be good change this view to edge to edge

 

[TurboPGT!]

Did you even read what I wrote? I literally said that having no bezels can cause issues, therefore artificial OS 'bezels' have essentially been built into iOS 10.

Jony Ive has always said he wanted the front of an iPhone to feel like an interactive pane of glass. "iPhones have a [physical] bezel because it's better than not having one"... there's no justification there and it's simply your opinion.

There really is no other explanation for this, Apple has always been about edge-to-edge content and having an additional (OS) bezel in addition to the physical bezel provides no benefit whatsoever, "it just looks better" is a rather naïve way of approaching this.

With flagship Android phones having edge-to-edge displays, it's not surprising that Apple is preparing to do the same with iOS 10.

Your off on your own planet. The continued existence of bezels is proof enough of it.

 

[SuperKerem]

Your off on your own planet. The continued existence of bezels is proof enough of it.

Again, please read what I wrote...
I never said that bezels should be removed. You either have a physical bezel or a UI bezel.

 

[Number-Six]

Did you even read what I wrote? I literally said that having no bezels can cause issues, therefore artificial OS 'bezels' have essentially been built into iOS 10.

Or it might just be the fact that Apple is finally realizing they have more screen real estate and don't actually need to stretch the notifications all the way to the bezel to still look good.

But your mind seems made up already, maybe you'll have the satisfaction of saying "ah! i predicted that"... or maybe not

 

[0928001]

iOS 10 doesn't confirm anything about the new phone. This is an assumption.

 

[smizzle]

That seems like a sound and reasoned conclusion, but we're probably not going to see an edge-to-edge display until next year most likely, so why introduce it now?

My guess is they wanted to do something "big" for iOS 10 and couldn't think of anything else to do so they just decided to implement the design change now instead of wait.

 

[ThunderMasterMind]

OK, and?

I don't really care for edge to edge displays. I've used them and they aren't that exciting I prefer bezels for the sake of holding things. I like edge to edge on Computers without touch input, but on tablets and phones I prefer a bezel to keep your other fingers from obstructing the display. I know iOS 6 allowed you to rest a finger on the display without it bothering operation, but I like to see the entire display as opposed to my finger or thumb in the way of something. I actually prefer the bezel on my iPad 4 to the smaller ones on the Airs, Minis, and Pros.

 

[ajiuo]

Perhaps they just decided that confining certain things to a more defined area was a better way to go, and that it might be easer to deal with for some people. I think that they went a little bit overboard with the flat design. Not defining clickable space well confuses a lot of non-techie people.... part of it was probably what I just said, and part of it was probably for aesthetics and consistency.

They might heavily reduce or eliminate the bezel in the future... but it won't be with the 2016 iPhone.

 

[ajiuo]

Actually I have a very good reason that they changed the design.... 3-D touch... and what I said... it all ties together better and looks more defined.

 

[SuperKerem]

OK, and?

I don't really care for edge to edge displays. I've used them and they aren't that exciting I prefer bezels for the sake of holding things. I like edge to edge on Computers without touch input, but on tablets and phones I prefer a bezel to keep your other fingers from obstructing the display. I know iOS 6 allowed you to rest a finger on the display without it bothering operation, but I like to see the entire display as opposed to my finger or thumb in the way of something. I actually prefer the bezel on my iPad 4 to the smaller ones on the Airs, Minis, and Pros.

If you're going to start your response with "OK, and?" you might as well not bother writing one in the first place.

Anyway, OLED means that parts of the screen can be completely turned off to form a bezel, which can disappear to increase the viewing area when watching video etc.
[doublepost=1470262300][/doublepost]

Actually I have a very good reason that they changed the design.... 3-D touch... and what I said... it all ties together better and looks more defined.

How does 3D Touch have anything to do with bezels?

 

[C DM]

If you're going to start your response with "OK, and?" you might as well not bother writing one in the first place.

Anyway, OLED means that parts of the screen can be completely turned off to form a bezel, which can disappear to increase the viewing area when watching video etc.
[doublepost=1470262300][/doublepost]
How does 3D Touch have anything to do with bezels?

I think the 3D Touch part was in relation to giving notifications and other elements borders to kind of give things more of a feel of the touchable areas (rather than just information across the screen).
[doublepost=1470266034][/doublepost]

I think it will be good change this view to edge to edge

What do you mean?

 

[ThunderMasterMind]

Firstly, I wasn't sure whether to post in the iOS 10 or iPhone subforum. Assuming that not all iPhone subforum users know what iOS 10 looks like, I thought this would be a safer bet.

Take a look at the new Control Centre. Look at how notifications appear. Look at the new widgets view.

What do they have in common? They are all bubble-shaped 'overlays', all a few millimetres away from the screen edge. This contrasts the edge-to-edge design that was a keystone of iOS 7-9, something constantly praised at various Apple events and even on Apple's website IIRC.

Why was this the case? Because an edge-to-edge layout is perfect for all current iPhones. They already have a physical bezel which keeps content away from the edge of the phone. Screen real-estate should be used to its maximum potential.

Therefore, with that said, it seems rather convenient that iOS 10 features an artificial bezel throughout the OS as I described above. This, to me at least, is to accommodate for an edge-to-edge iPhone display.

The benefits of an edge-to-edge (OLED) display are maintained (watching video, games etc.) whilst preventing the annoying aspect of content being covered up by the grip of your hand. In this scenario, the edge-to-edge layout featured in the last three versions of iOS would be unsuitable.

The downside to this is that all current iPhones designed for an edge-to-edge OS are going to slightly suffer with the new UI. Any thoughts?

Ok, let me actually say something meaningful instead of being a smartass about it lol. If flying objects make you think the new devices will get edge to edge, then the iPhone should've had it 5 years ago, because iOS 5 and 6 had floating objects that were later changed in 7. The UI concept has technically gone a step backwards to iOS 6. Skeuomorphism is coming back quicker than you think. Anyways, I don't really think iOS 10 points to any hints of edge to edge at all. Just some redesigns here and there, and fixing (somewhat) what iOS 7-9 screwed up on. iOS 10 makes iOS 7-9 look like betas and alphas. 10 is definitely not as jam packed with features and overhauls as I though the 10th anniversary iOS would have, but its satisfying enough. Once again I don't see how floating objects hints at anything.

Still don't really care about edge to edge...