LG Unveils the World’s Thinnest Bezel on a 5.1inch Display

LG Unveils the World’s Thinnest Bezel on a 5.1inch Display

LG has announced that its previous record of thin bezel, which had come in at an astonishingly small 2.2mm, has been broken. How’d they announce it?

Well, they showed us this.

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This piece of technology is absolutely incredible. Thin to a point that it barely seems there, it seems that the 0.7MM bezel may be an indicator of where we are going with screens on our mobile devices.

At first glance, and even often at second and third, it barely seems as if there is an edge. LG has perfected what they call “Neo Edge” technology which, through use of a specialized adhesive, seals the areas around the screen panel’s circuit board and backlighting unit. What this essentially does is combine both of those objects into one and removes the need of the side panels that, in most conventional phones, holds everything together. Normally, something as surprisingly simple as double-sided tape did the job. LG apparently wasn’t happy with that notion.

The “Neo Edge” adhesive not only allows LG to drastically thin-out the bezel in their display, it also allows a great deal of sealing to be made. A resistance to dust and water comes as a second-hand aspect to Neo Edge, as does lower light leakage. Even corrosion, which is a common factor in circuitry panels as smartphones age, becomes less of an issue with this adhesive.

LG has stated that they are pushing for mass production to begin this month (November) and will focus on the Chinese market where larger screens, and the display LG unveiled was 5.1 inches, are in higher demand than anywhere else in the world. In fact, Chinese mobile manufacturer, Oppo, has already unveiled the thinnest smartphone on any market. The Oppo R5 comes in at a staggeringly thin 4.85mm thick. This phone is so thin that it doesn’t even include a headphone jack. If you want audio through earbuds a micro-USB adapter for your favorite headphones must be used.

oppo r5

It seems that the thinning of smartphones is the big trend right now. But I do question how well this is going to work out in the long run. Even the typical, everyday smartphone from both Apple and countless Android manufacturers are thinning out. Apple has already had a multitude of problems with the latest iPhone, the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, with it becoming bent after a short time in an innocent a place as your front pocket. At what point does thin become weak? Would you rather have a thin phone, light and whimsical, or something with a bit more substance that you’re confident won’t break in a light breeze?

What LG is doing is the future. No doubt there. But casing design must catch up to the display.

And if you’re still having trouble processing the idea of how thin 0.7mm is, consider this; your credit card is 0.76mm thick. The edge, or bezel, on this display is thinner than how thick your credit card is. In terms of display technology, it’s practically nonexistent.

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