Ask WPCentral - Does the Nokia Lumia Phi for AT&T have a curved screen?

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Flat or curved for the Phi--Why not both?

Although details are not confirmed and scarce at this bespeak, many in our audience are asking and debating if the new Lumia telephone headed to AT&T, codenamed 'Phi' has a curved screen or not.

For some, the Lumia 800's curved glass was the pinnacle of pattern and elegance. Indeed, it does experience exceptionally nice in the paw both for holding and swiping beyond the screen. When the Lumia 900 forgo this detail, some were disappointed as the 900 instead has a completely apartment screen with a raised edge.

What many in our audition may not know is that Nokia actually gave an official reason for this pattern change on the 900 during a Q&A sessions on their blog...

The evidence

Why is there no 3D Gorilla drinking glass on the Lumia 900 equally on the Lumia 800?

A: We do have Gorilla Glass on the 900 but non the curved glass, this is to maintain balance for thinness and weight.

So they do have what seems to be a valid reason.

Indeed, some Windows Phone users already know this as the mesomorphic (but crawly) Dell Venue Pro has a four.1" 3D Gorilla glass screen that is heavily curved. The result is a massive phone with glass that has quite a fleck of weight and heft to it.

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DVP - Curved brandish at 4.1" makes some thick drinking glass

While we did love the Dell Venue Pro for the design (execution was some other thing), information technology was a massive device in part due to that curved screen which was "merely" four.1" inches. 1 could imagine what four.three" (Lumia 900) or a iv.7" (rumored Phi brandish size) would look like. That'southward because as the display grows larger, in order to maintain that curve, the screen has to get thicker in the middle. That's to prevent a center gap and to brand the screen stronger (although Gorilla Glass is scratch resistant, information technology tends to be prone to cracking. The harder the material, the more breakable it becomes).

We'll be the outset admit that we are non in Corning's lab (the makers of Gorilla Drinking glass) and they take made a lot of improvements over the last year. For all we know they accept "solved" this curved display versus size consequence and Nokia will be using it. But when we expect at the leaked images of the Phi and the patent drawings, we believe information technology tells another story.

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Rule #1: The more curved the display, the thicker the glass

In the leaked images of the yellowish device from Sina Weibo a couple of weeks ago, many saw the low-cal reflection in the upper right hand corner as evidence for a curved display.

But the other three corners tell a different story and look very flat. Indeed, to our eyes we can even discern the aforementioned telltale "lip" surrounding the screen as found on the Lumia 900. Such a pattern is better when you want to "flip to silence" your telephone as putting the device down on a curved screen is, well, impaired.

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Light fall off shows the vertical edges may be curved only the elevation/lesser are flat

Looking at the leaked bezel and capacitive digitizer image (which we have pulled due to request, but yous can see hither), it too looks to be very flat leaving no room for curved glass. Having said that, nosotros don't retrieve that rules it out completely equally the glass tin can lay on top or be merged with the digitizer.

Finally, in the discovered patent design drawings, it seems to usa many are confusing the back of the device for the forepart. We'll give our estimation of that blueprint below with our reasons.

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Analysis and conclusion

What we may exist seeing is a new combination of a mostly flat screen with a curved fall-off almost the edges, traveling vertically along the sides. And so it's neither Lumia 800 nor Lumia 900 but a new approach. We do know that Nokia has filed a patent on this blueprint, which tells us in that location is something unique about information technology when compared to the 800 or 900. Perhaps the display is it?

This new method could solve the two problems: ergonomically, the screen does have a nice, tappered design while at the aforementioned time, the edge or "lip" can assistance protect information technology when face downwards (especially with "flip to silence" being used. Such a feature would wreck the Venue Pro's display). It may exist subtle only still elegant.

In the finish, nosotros'll just have to wait a few weeks until Nokia reveals the device in its full. For many of you lot, all of this is moot and will not affect your decision while others will disagree with our assertions hither.

Think our assay is wrong? Sound off in comments (but keep information technology civil).

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