The final version of any smartphone is just one of many possible concepts. And sometimes I really want to dream, but what would happen if …
Content
- Foreword
- LG G5
- Source of inspiration
- Concepts
- How it turned out in reality
- SGS7
- Source of inspiration
- Concepts
- How it turned out in reality
- Sony Xperia
- Source of inspiration
- Concepts
- How it turned out in reality
- Instead of an afterword
Foreword
Before the announcement of the new flagship dies down, a lot of people begin to wonder what the next one will be. Gradually, the yet unannounced novelty begins to grow overgrown with rumors, gossip and curious design concepts that clearly show what it can be. By the time of the presentation, there are tens, if not hundreds, of such alternative design options, and this game is played by both famous designers and ordinary connoisseurs of the brand.
The task of the designers is not just to draw an abstract picture of a phone, but to try to imagine what a new flagship could really be. So, when working on a concept, you need to not only carefully preserve the corporate identity of the company, but also try to imagine what changes and for what reason it may undergo. For example, pay attention to the bright products of competitors, notice the design 'chips' that are gaining popularity, and so on.
Early concepts are based more on intuition than on any factual data, because even within the company itself, the final design of a new product may not yet be approved. But the closer the announcement date, the more rumors and various leaks appear on the network, which are considered good form to take into account.
Back to content >>>
LG G5
If we talk about the design of the devices, then LG is one of those rare companies that can really surprise you. Although it is not a fact that surprise is necessarily pleasant. But the main thing is that at a time when many eminent brands from year to year outline the same smartphone with a pencil (their own or competitors' – the tenth thing) in LG are not afraid to experiment and try something new.
Back to content >>>
Source of inspiration
Trying to understand what the design of the LG G5 could be, the designers started from the company's previous smartphones. First of all, it was the current flagship LG G4, as well as a rather interesting LG V10.
In addition, they did not forget about the latest fashion trends. Moreover, in the case of LG, these very 'fashion trends' meant not so much an 'apple' design a la iPhone 6, but a rounded screen in the style of Galaxy Edge. Indeed, for LG Samsung is the number one competitor, which the company needs to catch up and overtake at any cost.
Back to content >>>
Concepts
Designer Vuk Nemaja Zoraja has clearly thought out his LG G5 concept well. On the one hand, there are all the branded 'chips' LG, such as the leather back and the originally located volume control buttons. On the other hand, the smartphone uses metal, which is not only fashionable or beautiful, but also practical – the skin on the ends of the device will no longer be scratched and rubbed off.
In addition, the designer reflected in his concept all the leaks at that time, for example, a double camera.
Link to news
But in the opinion of Phonearena employees, the design of the novelty should have been completely redesigned. And in some ways they even guessed, in any case, the flagship really received a metal case. But with a frameless design, they clearly missed the mark – there is no need to copy the decisions of Japanese and Chinese companies LG, it would rather be a rounded screen in Samsung style.
However, the concept is still curious.
Link to news
It is the idea of a rounded screen that is played up in the next concept. It's even called LG G Edge. In my opinion, it looks quite plausible, and it may well be that one day we will actually see something like this.
Link to news
TechRadar's designers published their concept back in May, when nothing was known about any dual cameras and modular bodies. The smartphone looks original, and the use of the rounded screen on the bottom edge could definitely be found. For example – switch tracks, almost without taking your smartphone out of your pocket, and so on.
Although the smartphone can hardly be called handsome in the picture, in reality it could look very impressive.
Link to news
Of course, all those rounded edges and flexible screens are trendy, but many users feel that LG is worth developing their own strengths first. An example is a concept from designer Jermaine Smit, which clearly shows the features of the LG G Flex.
Link to news
Back to content >>>
How it turned out in reality
LG The G5 turned out to be a very interesting and unusual smartphone in many ways. Modular structure, metal body, dual camera – listing the features of the flagship LG can be long. From these and many other points, the design of the smartphone is formed, which many have tried unsuccessfully to guess. Engineers and designers LG have once again proved that they are not afraid to look into tomorrow (where, as we know, not everyone can look) and are ready for the most daring experiments. These days it is a great rarity and in itself deserves a round of applause.
MWC 2016. LG G5
But if we talk about design in the narrowest sense of the word, meaning simply the appearance of the case, then everything is not so simple. They say that in life a smartphone looks very good and makes a good impression. I really hope that this is really so, because in the photographs he looks frankly ugly.
Back to content >>>
Samsung Galaxy S7
When it comes to Samsung flagships, designers are traditionally divided into two categories – optimists and realists. The former hope for some kind of global design update, the latter believe that it will be another copy of the last year's device. In the case of SGS7, the latter turned out to be much higher. In principle, nothing surprising – Edge has already become a breakthrough for the company, and it was clearly not worth expecting something fundamentally new in a year. The only pity is that most of the presented concepts turned out to be very boring because of this.
Back to content >>>
Source of inspiration
Unlike their fellow countrymen in LG, Samsung's designers clearly believe that stability is a sign of craftsmanship. So the authors of the concepts started mainly from SGS6 and SGS6 Edge, which is not surprising at all. Moreover, many expected that the new SGS reincarnation would look even more “apple” than the current flagship, which in its “classic” version did not particularly impress buyers.
Back to content >>>
Concepts
The designers at CURVED / labs are clearly in the optimistic category. From their point of view, Samsung should have developed the idea of curved screens further, by no means stopping there. There is a certain reason for this – if a year ago the Edge series became a real breakthrough, now something similar is within the power of many companies, starting with the same Xiaomi.
There are two main problems. First, not everything that designers can draw is easy to put into practice. Especially if you think about the cost of a smartphone, the timing and volume of production and other boring things for creative people. And secondly, having squeezed the maximum out of the idea of curved screens in the first two years, the company risks being left empty-handed by the time SGS8 is being developed. So even if Samsung really had such an idea, they decided to save it for a rainy day.
Link to news
But Hasan Kaymak is a vivid representative of pessimistic designers. Its SGS7 concept does not provide for any technical revolutions or other major changes. Before us is a quite recognizable device from the Galaxy line, simply made in a slightly more austere style.
Link to news
However, he also has much bolder options. So bold that if it weren't for the inscription on the case, it would be impossible to guess the manufacturer at all.
What we see in the images looks more like a smartphone HTC … and, judging by the design of the back cover, it is also clearly unfinished. On the other hand, it looks much more decent in the black version.
Link to news
At first glance, the next concept looks very unrealistic, but, in fact, it was born for a reason. The fact is that just at that time Samsung's patent for a design in the style of Ubuntu Edge hit the network.
So the concept of 3DFuture studio is much less crazy than it might seem to someone. And it is a pity that today this smartphone exists only on paper.
Separately, it should be noted that the design clearly traces the style of Samsung from the times of Wave 2. At that moment, many thought that the Koreans had finally found their corporate identity. But alas, two famous designers (one of whom is holding and the other is tracing) eventually won. And, apparently, they successfully work in the company to this day.
Link to news
The concept of designer Jermaine Smit can be called a kind of return to the roots. There are no 3D glasses, rounded ends and additional screens here. The design is austere but beautiful. And it's a shame that many Korean designers consider these concepts to be incompatible.
Link to news
Back to content >>>
How it turned out in reality
Of course, no sensation happened. The SGS7 is made exactly the same style as the rest of the company's devices, from the SGS6 to the A series smartphones. At least for now, the word 'design' in Samsung is more understood as the work of engineers than artists or designers. From an engineering point of view, the new flagship is simply magnificent – just remember the same fashionable 3D glass, which they managed to make even more resistant to drops than the 'two-dimensional' counterparts of competitors.
Samsung Galaxy S7 / S7 EDGE flagship preview
As for the appearance, everything is a little more boring. The days when Samsung devices were called 'plastic remnants' are long gone, and the flagships of this Korean company have no problems with materials or case design for a long time. That the smartphones of the SGS line, that the devices of the A series look very decent and do not cause any particular complaints. Yes, perhaps some solutions were inspired by the style of technology Apple, but there is no question of copying the design – in any case, in life it is impossible to confuse SGS with iPhone.
Probably, there really was no point in changing the design of the devices. Still, it's a shame that Samsung has become too cautious in recent years. Quite unexpectedly, having stumbled upon a gold mine in the form of a rounded screen in the style of Samsung Edge, the company again froze in place, afraid to take even one step to the side. The approach is very pragmatic and both financially and technically absolutely correct. There really is no point in fixing something that has not broken yet. But it's still very strange to see that much smaller companies are not afraid to experiment, try something new and go forward, and the Samsung mastodon is marking time, waiting for the pioneers to collect all the bumps.
Back to content >>>
Sony Xperia
In the case of Sony, things are very, very difficult. First of all, because of the Xperia line, in which it is completely unclear when to expect the next flagship, which smartphone should be considered the current flagship and what, in fact, to create a concept for. And given that the vast majority of smartphones are like two peas in a pod, once drawn concepts live for years, only the title with the model name changes. At the same time, in certain circles, Sony still has a reputation as an innovative Japanese company, and the phrase Sony Style is by no means an empty phrase for brand lovers. And, in spite of everything, they expect from Sony that very stunning and unique design, thanks to which this company became known throughout the world.
Back to content >>>
Source of inspiration
For many designers, all the Xperia devices that have come out in recent years are like one model from which it is still impossible to draw conclusions about what the next phone will be like. They are, of course, taken into account – but at the same time they keep in mind the past devices, starting almost from cassette players. For many, such concepts have become a dream that they do not want to part with for many years, and how many Xperia clones have managed to come out during this time is completely irrelevant.
Back to content >>>
Concepts
An example is an old concept from designer Abel Verdezoto, dated back to 2012. Many fans of the first Xperia devices still remember it, from time to time it reappears on the net, and someone even tries to update the images taking into account modern trends.
Link to news
Another concept from around the same time, designed by Kevin Lim. Although many years have passed since then, absolutely nothing has changed for fans of qwerty sliders, so few decent devices in this form factor have come out during this time that they can be counted on the fingers of one hand.
Of the interesting features of this smartphone, it is worth noting the stylus, which the author provided back in those years. And no matter what he was guided by, the forecast turned out to be extremely close to the truth – there are more and more devices with stylus nowadays, and their support at the OS level may appear already in Android 7.0. The additional screen on the side of the case is another hit in the bull's-eye, thanks to Samsung and LG such things are becoming all the rage. But with the shutter protecting the camera lens, the author clearly did not guess, there is nothing like this in modern smartphones.
Link to news
This concept, on the other hand, is quite fresh. Although you can't say that much for him, because the designer Pierre Cerveau was inspired by nothing more than the Sony Walkman cassette players.
The result was curious, although, in my opinion, the author of the concept clearly overestimated the power of buyers' nostalgia for the old technology.
Link to news
Tired of the same type (albeit beautiful) building blocks of modern Xperia, many designers go to all the trouble, coming up with absolutely unimaginable things. A prime example of this approach is a concept called Sony XPERIA INFOLIO.
Everything is there – a touch pad with a fingerprint scanner, a cool camera with optical stabilization, stereo speakers on the back of the smartphone, a thin metal body and a completely futuristic design. The author describes it as 'Smart Design' and states that such a smartphone should be very comfortable in the hand. But I personally have big doubts on the last point.
Link to news
Although most of the concepts are still much closer to reality. Typically, their authors take the design of the current devices, make cosmetic changes and add one or two interesting 'chips'. For example, a solar panel like Victor Cao.
Link to news
Or just a very cool camera, as we already know Kevin Lim did.
Link to news
The next concept was called Sony Xperia Curve and was presented about a year ago, when everyone was waiting for a new smartphone from Sony at MWC 2015.
The main distinguishing feature of this smartphone is the rounded edges. Moreover, it does not seem that it was a curved screen in the manner of Samsung Edge, rather it is just such a design decision.
Honestly, it looks strange, if I had bought a similar smartphone, it is clearly not because of the design.
Link to news
Finally, here's one example of a realistic concept that Jermaine Smit drew in the summer of 2015. Before us is a classic Xperia smartphone, although a reference to old Sony devices can still be felt in it. If they told me that this is a photograph of a prototype, I would definitely believe it.
Link to news
Back to content >>>
How it turned out in reality
Fans of good old Sony Style have reason to be optimistic this year. Although the flagship of the Sony Xperia X company does not stand out in anything special against the background of its fellows, the Sony Xperia XA smartphone turned out to be much more interesting. This is a really real Japanese smartphone, which is not a shame to put next to the products of the same Sharp. The 'frameless' design alone is worth it.
Sony Xperia X – first look 
Sony Xperia XA – first look
On the one hand, all the signature features of the Xperia line have been carefully preserved, so you can easily guess the manufacturer of the smartphone. On the other hand, this is a real breath of fresh air that Sony has been lacking for so long.
Although it is difficult to make a complete impression of the new product from the photographs, you must definitely watch it live.
Back to content >>>
Instead of an afterword
Most of the smartphones presented at MWC turned out to be very successful, and some of the manufacturers were even able to surprise the public. But still, even among this small selection, there are at least a few concepts that I would really not mind seeing live. And it's a pity that history does not tolerate the subjunctive mood at all.
MWC 2016. Exhibition Navigator
