New High Screen-To-Body Ratio & Build Design Shown In Huawei Patent

- June 19, 2018

A new Huawei patent has been spotted which seems to suggest the company has found a new way to create bezels, bringing significant reduction in the amount of space those take up. In fact, the new method as described in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office filing published under number US-2018-0159966-A1 leaves what appears to be almost no bezel at all – although the documents don't describe a specific width. What makes this new design so interesting, however, is that it completely reworks the way a handset's components and display are embedded into the frame. Rather than placing those inside of a machined or prefabricated housing, the frame is split into three parts. The main body presented isn't dissimilar to the type ordinarily used but the left and right-hand metal edges are separate. Those edges are either glued or taped into place after everything else has been installed into what Huawei describes as a "stepping structure."

Different widths for that structure are required depending on the material used for adhesion but that doesn't seem to affect the overall size of the edges. That's largely due to the fact that the "bezel" itself now rests below the display in the above-mentioned stepping structure. The result, as shown in the associated images, is that the edges can effectively be designed as thin as possible without allowing or putting too much pressure on the display panel. Beyond the striking thinness of the bezels and the novel method used, Huawei goes on to claim in its filing that the device, when put together by professionals, maintains waterproofing, dust-proofing, and anti-static characteristics. Depending on whether that claim can be replicated at scale during mass production, the end-product could be fairly revolutionary in terms of redefining what it means to build a handset with a premium look and feel.

Bearing that in mind, it's unlikely the company would choose to put this new method to use in a budget-friendly or mid-range handset first. Instead, Huawei will almost certainly implement this in a top-tier smartphone. That's led to some speculation that the technology might be used in the long-rumored Huawei Mate 20 Pro flagship. That's expected to sport a Samsung-built 6.9-inch panel and not entirely impossible. If that turns out to be the case, the smartphone itself would be relatively comfortable to hold due to the greatly reduced bezels.