The leaked news was right: Samsung introduces its “first curved display smartphone”. The Samsung Galaxy Round has a unique curved design, from the convex body to the bent screen.
The Register pointed out this is not the first time Samsung ventured on the curved smartphone category, refering to the Nexus S three years ago. The difference is that the Nexus S is curved like a banana.
At 7.9 millimeters and 154 grams, the sleek and thin Samsung Galaxy Round sports a 5.7-inch full HD Super AMOLED screen. Well, that’s about it. Samsung was tight-lipped on the hardware.
But what the company kept on babbling about is the smartphone’s user interface that exploits its curved design, such as the Roll Effect that enables owners check notifications and battery level even while the home screen is off. There is also the Gravity Effect, which creates “visual interaction with the screen” as users tilt the handset.
There is also the Bounce UX that effectively controls the phone’s music player while the screen is off. For instance, quickly pressing the left of the device would play the previous track, while a brief press to the right will play the next song. Samsung also talks about the Galaxy Round’s one-hand operation features, bringing the user’s prefered controls closer on a desired side of the screen.
The Samsung Galaxy Round is initially available in South Korea in “luxury brown”. We have yet to hear if this smartphone will roll out overseas.
Source: Samsung
