When it comes to modern technology, minimalism is the name of the game
and the lightweight, sleek devices we use today look nothing like the clunky boxes of yesteryear.
However, there is still one very noticeable limitation
in humanity's quest to build the most futuristic looking gadgets possible.
Bezzles, those bulky frames that surround our screens
and that companies seem to be tripping over themselves to get rid of.
Not just for a sexier aesthetic, but also to cram as much screen real estate as possible
into smaller and smaller packages. But whether we're talking about a phone,
a monitor or a TV, it seems like bezels are still a necessity
for the time being. But why? To answer, we reached out to Sasha Kron at ASUS,
a manufacturer of all three of those product categories, and we'd like to thank him for providing us
with an assist on this video. Let's start with the simplest reason
that we still have bezels. The edges of modern LCD and LED displays
need to be protected because they're made up of multiple layers that need to be sealed up somehow.
I mean, think of trying to take a triple-decker sandwich home from the deli without wrapping it up in plastic first.
But that's not the end of it. Beyond structural protection and support,
it turns out that bezels often house the equipment
that drives the display itself, such as circuits and traces that run up to the screen.
And if you're talking about a monitor, these components are often stored in the bottom bezel.
That's why that particular one is usually quite a bit bigger.
Now, it is certainly possible to put the components behind the display,
but this can add a fair amount of thickness which may impact the product's appeal to consumers.
But okay, hold on a second Linus. My smartphone has super thin bezels
and doesn't even have a gigantic chin.
Why can't they just do whatever they're doing in smartphones?
Well, part of why phones get all the love is out of necessity.
Phones obviously have a greater need to be more portable than other everyday electronics.
So it makes sense that quite a bit more work has gone into eliminating phone bezels
versus the ones on monitors or TVs. And phones have the added benefit
of receiving extra structural support from having the logic board and the battery built in.
There's also an economic reason. Profit margins on phone displays
are quite a bit higher than on monitors, laptops and TVs
because panels get produced in large batches
which means that you can make many more phones from one batch
than you can larger displays. Also, phones tend to be relatively expensive
for their size, meaning that manufacturers can invest more in developing ways
to reduce their bezels footprint. So some phones have their screens
partially folded around the edge so that the part of the screen that needs protecting
is tucked underneath the phone's back cover allowing for narrower bezels.
In some cases, this can actually be clearly seen from the outside, such as with Samsung's Galaxy Edge series.
Other times, the panel drivers can actually be folded behind the display,
something that is much more difficult to do on a gaming laptop.
You see quickly switching pixels on and off
to get high refresh rates and fast pixel response times
requires a lot of current, which means thicker wires or traces
are required to carry it. Now on phones, these factors tend not to matter as much
so manufacturers can get away with using thin traces
that are easier to fold, not so on something like a gaming laptop.
So all of this has meant that we look to be on a slow march towards phones
with very, very minimal bezels, even phones that are nearly all screens
such as Xiaomi's Concept Mi Mix Alpha. But as for the larger displays,
well, it's certainly possible to make a very thin bezel
out of a transparent material like glass so that it's less obvious,
but to get a truly bezel-free display,
the most promising technology right now looks like micro led.
You can learn more about that up here, but it can get away without using bezels
because the circuitry that drives the LEDs is embedded in an extremely thin substrate
that forms part of the display itself. So it doesn't need the bezels either for structural support
or to hold electronic components. Of course, if you really want a bezel-free display experience
right the second, you could always just go out and buy a hollow lens,
as long as you don't mind looking like a total dork. So thanks for watching guys,
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