In case you missed it, the Galaxy S23 series was released last night. And even though the regular S23 and S23 plus variant comes with a flat screen, the S23 Ultra still has a curved screen. However, the screen is not as curved as its predecessor. Yes, Samsung has made some crucial changes to the curvature of the phone.
As long as we can remember, the curved screen has been a standard for high-end Samsung devices. However, with the Galaxy S20 series, curved screens have become less prominent in the flagship lineup. For example, the S22 and S22+ came with a completely flat screen.
However, the Galaxy S22 Ultra still had a curved screen. And so does the Galaxy S23 Ultra. Still, the curvature is not as prominent as before.
Samsung Admits That Curved Screens Are Bad
With the Galaxy S23 Ultra, Samsung is taking user feedback seriously. It decided to lower the curvature of the screen even further. To be exact, Samsung confirmed to 9to5Google that the curved glass on the side of the S23 Ultra is reduced by 30%. And a 30% decrease in curvature might not seem like a lot, but it is!
This reduction in curvature means that the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra has a 3% more flat surface than the S22 Ultra. And you are sure to notice the difference while holding the device with your hand. Hereās what Samsung has to say about the display:
The Galaxy S23 Ultraās expansive 6.8-inch edge display is sharper than the Galaxy S22 Ultra, as the display has a reduced curvature by 30% to create a larger and flatter surface area by ~3% for the best visual experience on a Samsung Galaxy smartphone.
Can You Feel the Change on the Galaxy S23 Ultra?
Last year, when 9to5Google reviewed the Galaxy S22Ultra, the reviewer stated:
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Curved glass edges result in the S Pen being physically harder to use along the sides of the display, as it easily slips down the side if you get too close to the edge.
Iāve long questioned the sanity of using curved edges on a device designed for handwriting with a pen, but at this point, itās just ridiculous.
Samsung has been moving away from these steep curves for a few years on its Galaxy S lineup and even has perfectly flat glass on the S22 and S22+.
Itās ridiculous to include curved glass on the only device in the lineup that has a stylus, and itās long past time for this trend to go away for good.
Well, with the Galaxy S23 Ultra, Samsung listened to the feedback. During a hands-on experience with the device, Damien Wilde (from 9to5Google) noticed that the āworkable area is basically completely flat.ā
However, there is a side-effect to this curvature reduction. The bezels of the Galaxy S23 Ultra appear to be slightly larger than the S22 Ultra. In other words, the reduced curvature is not doing a good enough job of hiding the side bezels. But still, the bezels of the device are already thin.
So, Will There Be a Curve-less Galaxy S24 Ultra
Thereās no denying that the curved screens look exceptionally good. However, they pose a few downsides. To illustrate, curved displays are more susceptible to breaking. And letās not forget that the replacement of these screens is considerably higher than the flat alternatives.
Therefore, Samsung has done a good job by reducing the curvature of the Galaxy S23 Ultra. But thereās no confirmation whether the future flagships will lower it even further or not. Still, we sure can hope to get a flat-screen on the future Samsung Ultra devices.
Oh wow a whole 3% more flat area? That’s it in chucking all my S22Us as soon as S22U arrives, how did I ever put up with them… I’ll also burn my old Note 10+ to send it to hell where it belongs!
hey, the 3% increase might not sound like much. But reviewers are already stating that the phone feels much flatter than the S22U.
I think it’s because it’s because the flatter sides not the screen. I guess I’ll compare the 2 on the 17th when the S23U arrives but not really complaining about the S22U either.
Samsung only half listening to feedback. Or listening but not being convinced, and choosing a very hesitant, middle of the ground approach. If they were actually listening they would make a completely flat screen, with flat edges. No light reflection at the end, no accidental touches, less prone to accidents, perfectly usability of the entire screen, better for, you know, actual usage.
The funny and sad thing about the curved screens is that their only advantage is that they are supposed to look cool. And to demonstrate that they show some supposedly immersive content in marketing materials. Take this photo of the car racing game showing in this article for example. You can see light reflecting at the top and bottom at the curved edges. The cool immersive experience is losing part of the actual display just because some idiots at the marketing department and all the lemmings that followed them thought that bezels are the devil.
I agree. I was pretty amazed by the render leak of the OnePlus Nord CE 3. Completely flat screens should make a major comeback.
I don’t update my phone all the time as some do. My personal opinion of the curved screen is it SUCKS!!!!!! I couldn’t care less on cool it looks. I care about the functionality of it. And as careful as I am with this phone the screen has cracked. This is a terrible feature and is keeping me from getting the S23 ultra. I have a note 10 and it took less than 1 yr. before I couldn’t purchase a tempered glass screen protector for it. All the 8 of the ones I tried that were supposed to be for it cracked or shattered. I won’t make this mistake again!