“每个智能手机都很无聊：激进的设计在哪里？” This is a福布斯headline from 2015, and while it’s not the first to state this, little has changed in the years since then. The subject has been repeated at virtually every Mobile World Congress. For example, last year theBBC问“为什么智能手机看起来如此相似？”
而且很难看出原因。看看任何大品牌最近的手机，可以看出一个相当一致的主题：一个大矩形，尽可能多的屏幕，（如果高端）包装在完美密封的壳体中。
But is this what customers want?
Google Trends suggests not, with the proportion of searches for the “best small phone” out-accelerating those for the “best big phone” since 2014. Searches for “beautiful phone” are also increasing quickly, rising 200% since the start of 2010, suggesting people want something more interesting(Fig. 1)。
1. Google search trends for the terms “best big” and “best small” phone reveal a smaller proportion of people want big handsets—from an even split in 2014 to more than 60% of searches being for small handsets in 2018. (Source: P2i)
As for design differentiation, arguably the hottest phones of late have been the Samsung Galaxy S8 and S9, which dared to be different with a curved screen and virtually no bezel. To quoteTechRadar.，Galaxy S8是“技术和设计的胜利组合”。
在去年的MWC，有一种令人震撼的不同设计。注意是联想的foldable handset prototype that turned into a smartwatch. But these were exceptions.
We’ve come a long way since companies dared to be different. Think back to iconic designs such as the Motorola Razr, v70, or the Nokia 8110 (made famous byThe Matrix), or even the classic clamshells(Fig. 2)。即使是iPhone，手机也是独一无二的，与Apple even suing Samsung用于模仿iPhone的套管设计。这几天似乎已经过去了。
2. Two iconic designs: the Samsung Galaxy S9 (a) and Motorola Razr (b). A foldable smartphone version of the Razr is rumored to be in development. And manufacturers are returning to classic designs, e.g. Nokia’s 8110 sliding “Matrix” phone.
Waterproofing Tech Has Limited Design Differentiation
According to a recentYouGov survey，手机上最重要的三个功能更长，电池寿命更长，不可用的屏幕和防水设计。简而言之，这三件事让您继续使用非常昂贵的设备，并避免昂贵的保险费，维修成本或更换。
每天，超过90万手机被水损坏。这反映在2017年Morning Consult survey人会考虑购买三星Galaxy S8. Respondents placed the device’s water protection as the feature most likely to sway their purchase decision.
但防水技术也影响了手机的设计，机械密封和垫圈只能有效（即，Square）设计。实际上，可折叠，灵活或弯曲的设计是一种挑战，而其他设计含义 - 例如允许易于更换的电池。在iPhone中，即使是耳机插孔已被删除。
由于材料更高的材料（BOM）和机械密封件的成本，防水只能在最昂贵的手机上推出。这意味着方形设计变得昂贵，低成本的手机效果沿着西装，以复制那种方形设计，以避免看起来很便宜。
The Desirability of Water Protection is Set to Rise
Early smartphones could be differentiated by the features they included, but they now all run powerful-enough processors to perform any app or task requested. Virtually all of them have exceptional cameras in the front and back; the same goes for GPS, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, and any other feature. There’s little to differentiate the phone anymore, making the design aesthetics essential.
And while the rise of 5G will mean a new desirable feature, this will be quickly adopted by all brands. Therefore, the only differentiation OEMs will be able to gain from this technology is how they design to cope with 5G chipset power demands and thermal dissipation.
Furthermore, because of the rise in cost wrought by 5G, handset lifetimes are expected to increase. Canalys has stated that in North America the average handset life expectancy will increase by 15.6% (from 22.5 months in 2017 to 26 in 2022). Smaller, but significant, rises will happen elsewhere—5.1% in Europe (29.4 to 30.9) and 5.0% in Asia Pacific (30 to 31.6). And with this increased device life comes an greater chance of damage, and therefore an increased need/desire for water-protection technologies.
Evolution of Waterproofing Technology
所有这一切的讽刺都是防水密封件快速失败。密封胶带将迅速分解。在意外下降之后，屏幕或壳体的第二个是，水可以进入该装置。
Research by摩托罗拉估计，第五（21％）的智能手机所有者目前拥有至少一个带有破解屏幕的智能手机。其中，其中43％不会修复它......当裂缝足够削减时，23％甚至不会这样做。
Added to this are claims by摩托罗拉护理that the average time from a phone’s purchase to breaking is just 10 weeks. And we’ve been told by repair centers that approximately 15% of IPX8 devices fail air-pressure tests within just two weeks of activation. However, the technology is evolving.
While hydrophobic nano coatings have been around for a few years, these typically protect the outer casing, and normally only to IPX2. Recent advances have adopted thicker nano coatings to protect the PCB, but again this only improves protection to IPX4 or IPX5 levels.
因此，当水进入裂纹屏幕时，只有PCB将具有这种保护水平 - 其他部件的电路仍然可以获得水损坏。因此，需要每一切努力停止进入水。
However, 2019 will see even more advanced offerings hit the market, with multi-chemistry techniques used to deliver system-level protection (such as P2i’sDunkable）。这些技术将增加对IPX8的保护，甚至使手机能够在水下运行，以实现曝光的电子产品不受影响。
我们会在2019年看到更多样化的设计吗？
在创意战略的消费者技术分析师去年MWC，Carolina Milanesi，told the BBC: "Hardware is always the easiest thing to sell—if it looks different, you get the consumer’s attention, and then you build from there. Trying to get someone into a store for something that looks the same as last year is difficult, even if it has new things to offer."
Apple, and in particular its head designer,jony ive爵士, has shown bold and original designs can play a vital role in success. This is backed up by the growing number of people searching for the term “beautiful phone” and the sales figures for Samsung’s Galaxy S8/S9 with the curved-edge screen being a key advertised feature.
So, with the implementation of system-level waterproofing, I think the first thing we’ll see (starting in 2019 and into 2020) will be the move to virtually eliminate the bezel, enabling smaller handsets for the same size screen.
At the same time, the thermal dissipation and power requirements of 5G chipsets will require space freed for larger batteries without increasing the size of the device. We may see bold thermal-management features brought into the design of the handset casing. Vents even?
3. Royole去年11月推出了第一个折叠智能手机，三星，LG，摩托罗拉和华为都表示正在开发类似的型号。这种设计是否变得更加常见？（版权所有Royole Pr）
之后，移动到灵活的屏幕技术(Fig. 3)我认为，将开始更广泛地采用。灵活/可折叠设备是CES 19的讨论的关键话题。第一个可折叠电话，Royole’s FlexPai, is already available.Samsung, LG,and华为are said to be developing such handsets. And Motorola is rumored to be creating a folding smartphone version of the Razr, which if initial reports are right, will bestunning。
It should be noted that, as well as being flexible, the makers of these plastic screens claim they’re不太容易发生开裂than Gorilla Glass. Also, the emergence of flexible OLCD (rather than OLED) technologies should make them affordable to implement.
Finally, I think the consumer’s increasing desire for smaller phones (as shown by Google searches), coupled with the need for smartphones to have as large a screen area as possible, will bring with it the return of the clamshell... However, this time it will be with two edge-to-edge UHD screens that can present video content on a much bigger widescreen display, while still fitting comfortable into the user’s pocket.
