Best phones with dual curved edge display

Back in 2014, when phones were boring and flagships became replicas of one another, Samsung brought something that would set its phones apart from the crowd, one side of its Galaxy Note phablet had its screen curved on the edges. Less than a year later, Samsung pushed the curved screen with the introduction of the Galaxy S6 Edge, making it the very first phone to have curves on both edges. This gimmick is now known as the dual edge and phones having it are often referred to as dual edge phones.

The standard Samsung flagship plus a curved edge edition was continued with the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge, after it, beginning with the Galaxy S8, all the flagship mobiles from Samsung came with curves on both edges of their screens and differed from each other primarily by size.

What is a curved display on a phone and what it does?

The prime purpose of the curves on the screen of a smartphone is more for aesthetic reasons than function. There sure are some usability functions on the curved edges of Samsung phones. The edges have their own panel and lightning. Its panel can be activated by swiping and tapping on the side to view notifications, access the Edge apps that include five most frequently used applications of yours, and some other small gestures. But, isn’t that the usability of a curved phone screen will make your life easier. One of the functions of it might not even be useful at all, the function that displays the caller id on the side when the phone is facing down, it isn’t a wise idea to place your expensive Samsung phone face-down, its screen may get scratched.

Edge has been a selling point for Samsung. Curves on the screen give to the phone a border-less appearance by minimizing the sight to the side bezels. This futuristic vibe makes the device look prettier and fancier. But that’s not all, due to the curvature, such phones make it easier to hold them, and as the edge is part of the screen, they are more compact than a flat-screen counterpart.

Phones with edge display look good from an aesthetic point, and there is no doubt about that. The glass and steel integrate together in such a way that the phone appears to not have bounds on its glass panel. Besides having a great-looking phone that is easier to hold when compared to a regular handheld, isn’t that you can do much with the dual edge curves on a phone.

What is the best dual edge phone?

Nowhere else do the curved edges on a smartphone screen look as good as on a Samsung Galaxy S9/S9+ or the Galaxy Note9. But if you are looking for a phone with curved edges but that is not made by Samsung, you’re not left without options. The best alternative to it obviously is the Huawei Mate 20 Pro. One of the all-around best mobiles phones money can buy at this time. Numerous brands have joined the curved-edge phone screen frenzy, such as LG, Sony, Nokia, Oppo, and more.

During 2016 and 2017 almost every major and not-that-popular mobile phone producer released a phone having curved edges. However, these phones were either abandoned or continued without the edge, and their manufacturers opted for later technology trends such as the screen notch or the edge-to-edge touchscreen display. They are obsolete devices now and mentioning them in this phone listing is of no value.

Samsung Galaxy S9 / Galaxy S9+

Samsung’s Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus undoubtedly are the two phones where the dual-edge curves best. The 5.8-inch and 6.2-inch HDR-enabled AMOLED screens on these two handsets are amongst the brightest and compelling displays on a smartphone. The Quad-HD resolution numbering 1440 x 2960 pixels raise the pixel density at a fascinating 570 pixels per inch on the Galaxy S9. The S9+ has a lower pixel density of 529PPI on its display due to the larger size. Both phones have a 3D touch function that replaces the former Home button and its functions.

The Edge screen is a Samsung signature and it is on its phones where it has the most usability features. With just a swipe on the screen, you can access notifications, the weather forecast mobile app, or the App Pair, a feature found on the Galaxy Note 8 and later phones that let you open two apps at the same time on your Android.

A drawback on phones having an edge screen was that they didn’t offer much protection from the water. Both these Samsung cell phones have an IP68 rating. This rating guarantees that the device can survive a submerge at a depth of 1.5m of water for half an hour. This, however, doesn’t mean that you can swim with the phone in your pocket and not care about it, but raindrops, sweat, or wet fingers won’t cause any damage to it.

The dual cameras on the Galaxy S9+ are amongst the best cameras on a smartphone. Period. The S9, unfortunately, does not have two cameras. Its 12MP single camera still manages to take captivating images and record videos at 4K resolution. Anyway, if you were to choose amongst the two solely for the cameras, the dual 12MP sensors on the S9 Plus offer the better performance.

Specs of these two devices are the same. Both have versions running the Snapdragon 845 and Exynos 9810 with 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB of memory. Galaxy S9 has 4GB of RAM while the Galaxy S9 Plus has 6GB, the dual-sim versions support microSD of up to 512GB.

Batteries with 3,000 mAh and 3,500 mAh of respective capacities power these two phones up. They are made to keep the devices going for one day and support wireless charging and fast charging. There is a fingerprint reader on the back, the 8MP camera at the front that can snap hypnotic selfies and record videos at 1440p that also serves as an Iris scanner, a heart rate sensor, and support for contactless payments via Samsung Pay. Samsung hasn’t given up on the headphone jack yet, and you get that too with these devices.

Samsung Galaxy Note9

The best smartphone featuring Stylus Pen also has the best screen curves on the edges of a mobile phone. The Galaxy Note 9 features a mesmerizing AMOLED display of 6.4-inches with Quad HD resolution and the iconic curved edge that this phone series made popular. The Galaxy Note9 looks more like a larger version of the Galaxy S9 and S9+ with only the corners on the two being slightly more round than the ones on the Note9. With little to no design changes, you are offered a larger phone plus the S pen and its uses.

Although the Galaxy S9+ and the Note9 have the same cameras on paper, the Note9 actually outperforms it. Selfie and video performance should be identical to that of the Galaxy S9 or S9+. The Note9 has more power and makes a slightly better-performing gaming phone. It runs the Snapdragon 845 chipset with 6GB and 8GB of RAM with 128GB and 512GB of onboard memory for each respective model. The dual-SIM versions of it support memory expansion by up to 512GB more.

Just like other wireless charging-enabled phones, the Note9 has its body built by two bright glass panels that are kept sandwiched together via an aluminum frame. It is also IP68-certified for its durability against dust and water and gets powered by a 4,000 mAh battery that also supports fast charging.

The Note9 brings top-notch connectivity features such as a rear-mounted fingerprint reader, Iris scanner, and the health-related sensors to measure your heart rate or pulse oximetry. To get more data regarding your physical activity or general wellbeing, pairing your Note9 with Samsung Galaxy Watch will enrich the data appearing on the built-in health app, Samsung Health. This phone will work on any smartwatch compatible with Android, but Samsung’s own watch seems to be the more appropriate choice.

With the Galaxy Note9, you also receive support to listen to music via wired headphones and one of the best and most secure Android smartphones ever made.

Huawei Mate 20 Pro

Huawei Mate 20 Pro is the ultimate China phone. It has no rival for its power and photography features. The Mate 20 is a close-by runner up, and it is almost as good as the Pro version but its screen has round and not curved edges, and it is excluded from this listing.

Huawei’s beast phone features a large AMOLED display of 6.39-inches with 1440 x 3120 pixels resolution. The Chinese designer of premium cell phones added more pixels to this phone to maintain an extremely high pixel density of 538 pixels per inch. This phone runs the HiSilicon Kirin 980 processor, world’s first 7nm chipset that preserves power 32% better and has a 37% better performance than the Snapdragon 845. Besides being almost one generation ahead of Qualcomm, the chip on the Huawei flagship also has 4MB of shared L3 cache to keep the cores well-fed, this is twice the amount of cache found on the Snapdragon 845.

A top-powerful processor is not the only or the prime selling note this phone has. Its cameras are outstanding. A trio of Leica-made sensors includes a 40MP, 20MP, and 8MP where each has PDAF and laser autofocus of its own to deliver breathtaking 4K video recording and high-resolution photoshoots. A 20MP HDR-enabled sensor on the front that sits on a screen notch will take the best-possible quality selfies a phone of this era can capture.

The memory in this handset is out of limits as well. There are versions of it having 6GB and 8GB of RAM with models having 128GB and 256GB of expandable onboard storage. Android 9 Pie with EMUI 9 skin built on top of it covers the user interface.

The fingerprint reader is embedded under the glass, and there is support for Face ID as well. Mate 20 Pro runs a large 4,000 Mah battery with wireless charging and fast charging support. Its fast charging technology is so good that it takes only 30 minutes to have its battery charged to 70 percent. There is no earphone jack socket on it while there is NFC for contactless payments and IP68 certification for its durability against dust and water. If you don’t mind spending, there is a Porsche Design edition of the Huawei mate 20 Pro.

Sony Xperia XZ3

Sony, a veteran smartphone designer, doesn’t like to rush things over. The Japanese manufacturer and its Xperia line of devices include top-tier and midrange devices which are updated once a year and rank amongst the top quality Android devices on each of the segments they belong to.

The 6-inch P-Oled screen on the Sony Xperia XZ3 features a resolution of 1440 x 2880 pixels that takes pixel density up to 537 pixels per inch. To highlight and improve viewing of films and other video content on its flagship phone, Sony equips its phone with HDR and X-Reality engine that adds clarity to each image. The phone is compact, and it does have an Edge screen too.

The phone continues the single-camera setup, and its 19MP primary sensor can record 4K videos. There is a 13MP sensor at the front that has HDR and electronic image stabilization and can take stunning selfies. This premium phone made by Sony runs the current-best Snapdragon 845 chipset and has variants with 4GB and 6GB of RAM with the onboard memory sitting at them both at 64GB. A microSD can extend the availability of storage by up to 512GB. Android 9.1 Pie tops up its up-to-date functionalities, security, and app supports.

This phone does not support the headphone jack. It gets the power from a wireless charging-enabled 3,300 mAh battery. It features NFC for wireless payments and sports a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor.

Huawei Mate RS Porsche Design

The Porsche Design Huawei Mate RS, a tribute to the Porsche RS car, shares most of its internal hardware with the Huawei P20 and P20 Pro, the best phones to keep the physical Home button, but sports a completely different concept design. It has no Home button on the front, its screen does not have an annoying notch in it, and its triple Leica cameras are placed on the middle of its backside in a vertical line that ends with the fingerprint reader.

The 6-inch QHD screen on the Huawei Mate RS Porsche Design boasts a pixel density of 538 pixels per inch and has ravishing curves on both its edges. The beautifully-crafted RS Porsche Edition of this Huawei Mate phone has an in-glass fingerprint reader and a regular fingerprint sensor in the back. It is water and dust resistant too but fragile against dropping.

It packs quite a punch regarding power. The Kirin 970 Chipset that can be found on the Huawei P20 Pro is on the same range with the Snapdragon 845 and deals even better with AI-related tasks. The 6GB of onboard RAM combined with 256GB and 512GB of built-in memory along with the upgrade to Android 9 Pie grant to it top-notch performance and compatibility to the latest Android games and apps.

The cameras on this Porsche Design Huawei phone are the same 40MP, 20MP, and 8MP sensors on the back and the 24MP selfie snapper at the front that you can find on the Huawei P20 Pro with an equal photography performance. This phone knows little to no competition when it comes to snapping high-resolution photos or recording 4K videos. It also is an outstanding selfie phone.

There is a 4,000 mAh that is not changeable on the back of the Mate RS Porsche Design to keep it powered throughout the day with the support of Qi wireless charging and fast charging. It supports two SIM cards and NFC for contactless payments.

Oppo Find X

The China-based Oppo known primarily for its quality affordable Android cell phones can make top-tier devices as well. Its Find X has the looks and internal components that enable it to go head-on against any other device.

Oppo Find X sports a captivating design that includes two panels of Corning Gorilla Glass 5 pieces sandwiched together via a slim and barely-visible aluminum frame with a full HD AMOLED display that has curves on both of its edges. The screen of it has no notch and the selfie camera is embedded on a motorized pop-up module that appears whenever you need it. By utilizing the motorized module technology for the front camera, Oppo managed to maintain the touchscreen in almost the whole of the front panel.

The top-tier performance on the Oppo flagship is provided by the Snapdragon 845 SoC together with a whopping of 8GB of RAM and Android 9. There are models with 128GB and 256GB of storage, microSD card is not supported. The motorized module holds the 16MP primary camera that along a second 20MP sensors that is embedded within the back side of the phone can take 4K videos. The same module holds the 25MP HDR-enabled sensor for full HD video chat and high-resolution selfie shooting.

There are two versions of the Oppo Find X, the Oppo Find X Super Flash edition gets powered by a 3,400 mAh that gets fully charged in 35 minutes by utilizing the company’s flash charging technology and the standard edition that takes a little more to charge but has a larger capacity battery of 3,700 mAh. There is no headphone jack, but there is support for two SIM cards and NFC.

Nokia 8 Sirocco

The New Nokia has brought some excellent worthwhile upper-midrange mobile phones. Nokia 8 Sirocco is one of them. This premium cell phone is compact, and its QHD AMOLED display measures only 5.5 inches. Pixels are stuffed together at a ratio of 534 pixels per inch, and there are curves on both sides of the display panel. The glass body design on both of its sides and a shining stainless steel frame grant it a compelling outlook.

The Nokia 8 Sirocco comes with last-generation Snapdragon 835 chipset under the hood that is backed by six gigs of RAM and 128 gigs of onboard memory. It is the current best phone to run Android One, and it is upgraded to the latest Android 9 Pie version of the OS. The upgrade is necessary for the device to remain relevant and that is one of the reasons that earns it a place in this roundup.

Photography-related features on the Nokia 8 Sirocco are at a satisfactory level. The duo of a 12MP and 13MP of Zeiss sensors enable it to record 4K videos while the 5MP camera at the front with a large pixel sensor of 1.4µm lets you take excellent selfies and full HD video chat.

There are single-SIM and dual-SIM versions of Nokia 8 Sirocco. It has a back-mounted fingerprint, NFC,  and gets powered by a 3,260 mAh battery with Quick Charge 4.0 and wireless charging support.

LG V30S+ ThinQ

LG has not been a major fan of the edge screens on a smartphone, but it still made phones having both edges curved. The top dog of such LG phones is the V30S ThinQ and its premium version with 256GB that is known as the V30S+ ThinQ.

The Lg V30S ThinQ has an excellent 6-inch QHD OLED display that boasts a pixel density of 537PPI, and that has no ugly notch in it. The phone is quite attractive with both sides of it being crafted by the durable Corning Gorilla Glass 5 that are sandwiched together by an aluminum framing. The curves grant to it a borderless outlook on top of its FullVision display.

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 with 6GB of RAM and 128GB and 256GB of expandable memory with Android 8.0 Oreo keep it relevant and maintain its powerfulness. A 16MP plus 13MP dual camera setup on the rear and a 5MP sensor at the front are all it brings for photos and videos. There is 4K video recording support via the cameras on the back but don’t expect anything you can’t find on other flagship devices.

There is a 3,300 mAh battery with quick charge technology and also supports wireless charging for power. A fingerprint reader on the back enables quick access, NFC for fast contactless mobile payments and other data sharing, and it does come with the jack socket embedded into the device.

Meizu Zero

Meizu Zero is a new concept phone that has no physical buttons and ports. If phones that dropped the headphone jack were a disappointment for you, then this phone that doesn’t have even a USB port will certainly not impress you. Although Meizu claims that its phone comes from the future where the wires are no longer must-have accessories, the truth is that the USB port is not used only to charge the device but also to connect fast to any computer device.

Meizu Zero doesn’t look bad. It actually looks quite good in its ceramic body craft with an AMOLED screen featuring full HD resolution and curves on both its edges. It has no ports and no buttons. It doesn’t even have traditional speakers. Instead of them, the phone uses a piezoelectric transducer that comes branded as the mSound 2.0 to play the role. It has an IP68 certification that tells it is resistant to dust and water and Meizu keeps mentioning it as a revolutionary achievement, something that it is not. Most of the phones that sport a similar design to this Meizu phone do have ports and buttons and probably would beat Meizu’s flagship in a competition about durability and resistance.

Meizu Zero will come only as an e-SIM phone too. It has decent hardware, a Snapdragon 845 and 4GB and 6GB of RAM with 64GB and 128GB of respective onboard storage with Android 9 on top. Storage is another segment where Meizu seems to disappoint. It appears to have a dual-camera setup on the rear consisting of a 12MP and 20MP camera and a 20MP selfie sensor on the front. There also is an embedded fingerprint under the screen and the only way to charge the phone is via an 18W wireless charger that will be sold with the phone when it launches.