We’ve been heading complaints for the past few years that smartphone designs have gotten lazy. Most manufacturers have transitioned to the same metal frame and glass back formula for their premium products or simply use different plastics to give their phones that same look on their mid-range and even entry-level phones.
There’s technically nothing wrong with the designs we’re getting, it’s just that they all start looking generic since it’s become increasingly hard to tell one phone apart from another.
Personally, I’m OK with the material choices, as long as the design teams try to give a device at least one unique feature that allows it t stand out. I’ve praised the new Galaxy S21 series for incorporating the camera module into the metal frame of the phone by making it more prominent and moving it up to the very top and bumping it over to the side. That slight change makes it look more cohesive and less of an afterthought. Apple’s new iPhones also do a good job of creating a unique look by making each camera lens seemingly pop out of the glass panel on the back of the phone.
When I saw the first leaked images of the upcoming Oppo Find X3 Pro, I was a bit perplexed. The photos showed off a design that featured a single piece of glass or plastic on the back of the phone that curved and stretched over the camera module as well. It looked… weird.
Of course, it’s hard to judge the design of a 3D object from a few photos, especially a design that’s quite different from anything we’ve seen before. Thankfully, two newly leaked videos of the Oppo Find X3 Pro have surfaced, allowing us to see the design in motion.
I’m still not sure if I’m a fan of this new look, but I’m definitely intrigued. Rather than iterate on the same design everyone else has been working on for the past 4 years, Oppo’s team has come up with a new way to present the camera module on the back of its phone that allows the Find X3 Pro to stand out from the crowd.
Let me know your thoughts on the design of the Oppo Find X3 Pro. If you were designing a phone in 2021, would it look like this?
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