A slight change in numbers, a huge impact. This is what future classic phones could look like

Most of today’s phones have an aspect ratio of around 19.5:9 – a tall, narrow rectangle that is easy to hold in one hand. However, according to several leaks, a generation of much wider devices with an aspect ratio close to 16:10 could emerge. For now, it’s speculation with a particularly piquant origin: the initial impetus came from a poster that its author himself wrote was meant as a joke.

A joke no one could forget

The well-known leaker Ice Universe published a generated teaser poster of the alleged Oppo Find W model and soon after added that it was just for fun and shouldn’t be taken seriously. The poster quickly disappeared from his X account, but remained on Chinese Weibo. It was there that information also emerged that such a phone could be in preparation for early 2027, or alongside the Oppo Find X10 Ultra model.

The matter would have ended there if Digital Chat Station – a leaker with usually very solid accuracy – hadn’t gotten involved. He hinted on Weibo that the trend towards wider displays could indeed extend to regular non-foldable phones. Specifically, there’s talk of a panel with a 16:10 aspect ratio and a diagonal of approximately 6.3 to 6.4 inches.

Foldables showed the way

Where this idea comes from is no mystery. Foldable phones are moving from elongated cover displays with a 21:9 ratio to much wider and more compact forms – this can be seen on the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and the upcoming iPhone Ultra. Xiaomi, Oppo, and Honor are heading in the same direction. Furthermore, Oppo has been flirting with wide formats for a long time: the Find N2 model from 2022 had an 18:9 ratio at a time when Samsung was pushing extremely tall 23.1:9.

The question is whether it will bring any benefit to the user. A wider display means more comfortable reading and more enjoyable video watching, but also significantly worse one-handed operation. And since most people don’t hold their phone with both hands, this could be precisely the compromise that causes the trend to fizzle out.

Digital Chat Station himself adds that there is no trace of mass production of such a phone yet. So take the entire report with a large grain of salt – a long road leads from a hint on a Chinese social network to a finished product.

Would you take a wider phone in exchange for worse one-handed operation?

Source: Notebookcheck