If you've been following Samsung's phone lineup, you've probably noticed one notable difference. While flagships like the Galaxy The S25 has razor-thin bezels around the display and is symmetrical on all sides, while the cheaper models in the series Galaxy A or M still have that distinctive black stripe at the bottom – the so-called "chin".
You might wonder if Samsung is doing this on purpose to force you to buy a more expensive, yet more appealing model. But the truth is a little more complicated and has to do with the technology you carry in your pocket.
Galaxy A36 vs. Galaxy A56
The key is the (in)flexibility of the display
The main reason lies in how the display is connected to the phone's motherboard. Each panel has connectors and chips at the bottom that take up space.
- Cheap models (Fixed panels): They use so-called rigid OLED or LCD panels. These displays are like a hard plate that cannot be bent. So the connectors have to be placed directly under the bottom edge of the display, which requires extra space - and that's why there's that thick chin that masks this hardware.
- Flagships (Flexible panels): Premium models use flexible OLED panels. Although they are flat, their lower part is curved inward (into the body of the phone) under the display. This hides the connectors "behind the corner" and the frame can be made smaller. minismall.
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It's all about money.
So why doesn't Samsung put a flexible panel in every phone? The answer is simple: cost. Producing a flexible OLED panel is 30% to 100% more expensive than a rigid one. varianty. For a low-end and mid-range phone, every dollar in cost matters. For example, if Samsung wanted to Galaxy For the A57 to achieve symmetrical bezels, it would either have to become significantly more expensive or save on more important things like the processor or camera.
Galaxy A36
The good news is that the technology is coming down in price over time. The manufacturing processes for flexible panels are becoming more efficient, and it's only a matter of time before the technology makes its way into the mid-range. For now, however, it seems that for Samsung (and most of its customers) price/performance is more important than perfectly symmetrical design in its lower-end phones.
Personally, I think the “chin” is an aesthetic detail that you probably won’t even remember after two days of use. It’s much better to have a quality processor and a decent battery in a cheaper phone than to pay thousands just for the bottom bezel to be a few millimeters thinner. The display is still of sufficient quality in terms of its size, brightness, and colors. What about you? Do you mind the asymmetrical bezels, or do you not care about it on a cheap phone?
