Tag Archives: smartphone concept

Samsung Galaxy S21 should have taken inspiration from this refreshing rollable Samsung Stick concept!

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Now while this isn’t an official Samsung concept, I can’t help but really wish it was one! CES 2021 has been ruled by a myriad combination of rolling, flexible as well as transparent screens. And while that is for sure the future of technology, there is something exciting about the cubic folded form factor of this concept. Combining technologies that aren’t outside the realm of possibility, the Samsung Galaxy Stick makes perhaps the best use of a flexible display. It rolls it up into a smart, dynamic scroll, making the Samsung Galaxy Stick perhaps the most interesting smartphone concept of this season.

The scroll-esque screen is a hat-tip to Samsung’s advancements in flexible OLED displays, and when not in use, it rolls right up into the phone’s slim, hollow, wand-like body. When you need the display, it promptly comes rolling out, turning the wand into a usable smartphone, with a nifty flexible touchscreen that maintains rigidity when unfolded. The Galaxy Stick even packs a secondary slimmer display on its body, to be used for more functional elements like calls, messages, battery indicators, etc. The secondary touchscreen is permanent, showcasing notifications when the flexible screen is rolled in, and even houses an in-screen fingerprint sensor for unlocking your smartphone.

The only caveat of this piece of sheer innovative design is the fact that the Galaxy Stick packs only one primary camera on its back… a drawback that shouldn’t really be a problem, considering the Galaxy Stick sets out to solve more pressing problems, like creating a flexible-display smartphone that doesn’t crease, and that isn’t a massive brick. The rolling display format could make a pretty unique proof-of-concept. Obviously, this makes the phone incredibly vulnerable, given that the screen needs to be mounted on a delicate mechanism that helps it roll and unroll (not to mention the fact that three out of four sides of the Galaxy Stick, when opened, are an exposed OLED display with no protection). The second-most pressing problem is obviously that a smaller, more compact phone invariably means a smaller battery too, which in the case of the Galaxy Stick, isn’t enough. While phones are getting more and more powerful, batteries aren’t getting better, they’re just getting bigger… Until someone invents a more efficient and compact battery, the Galaxy Stick may remain just a concept, but don’t lose hope! Today’s concept is tomorrow’s proof-of-concept!

Designer: Pranab P Kumar

You know what’s better than a sliding smartphone camera? A detachable one.

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I’ll be honest. Sliding cameras are a no-go for me. Here’s why I hate them. Their biggest justification is that sliding cameras create a bezel-less experience, and I honestly don’t have a problem with bezels. A small Samsung S9-style brow and a chin look perfectly fine on a smartphone (I say this as a consumer, not as a design journalist). The other things I hate about sliding cameras are that they catch dust, their presence prevents the phone from being waterproof, and you can’t really put a proper case on them. They also make phones marginally thicker, and a slight problem here or there (a bend perhaps) will render the sliding mechanism useless, basically leaving you with no camera, which isn’t ideal, right?

So what’s the solution? I Nung Huang has one that involves a detachable camera module and a proprietary contact-pin setup that allows you to snap the module to your phone, like the Essential Phone, or Motorola’s Moto Mods. The phone and module are both water-right and dust-resistant, so problem solved there. Looks like the only other foreseeable problem is accidentally losing or dropping the camera mod (like one would with an Airpod), but Huang’s nifty swivel case solves that problem, while also allowing you to use the camera in any orientation (thanks to circuitry within the case itself). What’s better is that this phone is now A. completely bezel-less on the front, and B. more secure, thanks to the removable camera. You know what? Removing the camera may do wonders for your battery life too!

Designer: I-Nung Huang

Wild Type wants to challenge the stereotypical smartphone aesthetic

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In theory, almost all smartphones today have at least 3 things in common. A square shape, a massive screen, and a unibody design that’s almost always aluminum (or any other metal). This wasn’t the case 15 years ago. Smartphones came in much more unconventional forms, from circular, to capsule shaped, to even squarish.

The Color series by Wild-Type reimagines those unconventional shapes, and creates dynamic looking concepts that one would definitely consider outrageous in today’s market. Trying to give the smartphone industry the creative push it needs, these phones focus on being designed radically differently, in order to catch eyes. Available in three shapes, the phones explore various color schemes, while retaining the current format of the smartphone (being very careful of being radical but not too radical).

Although currently just a concept, the Color series makes a very important point that evolution of form is a natural procedure, so when designs begin stagnating (as they already are), it is a natural instinct to want to break the mold… which the Color phones most definitely do!

Designers: Eli Block & Fahredin Kosumi (Wild-Type).

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HTC got ’em curves!

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The HTC One concept is highly reminiscent of Sony Xperia’s phone design. The curved side profile reminds me of the Xperia Arc. However, the back face of the phone follows HTC’s design language. The One concept boasts of a strong visual aesthetic, doing away with the ‘sleek’ trend today’s phones keep following. The phone’s curved back fits well into one’s hand, making it much more comfortable to hold than the phones out there today.

Also, look! No antenna lines!

Designer: Steve SH Kim

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