Several interesting bits today, loosely related to new form factors. Most of them evoke a need, rather than a solution, but they’re still interesting.
[With the Galaxy S6 Edge display] Samsung discovered a latent appetite for new, interesting mobile designs, even ones without a lot of practical value. Samsung Has Two Big New Phones, and Even Bigger Ideas (David Pierce; Wired)
The mobile phone in general and the smartphone in particular are designed to be carried first, and spoken into second. […] They’ve fallen out of favor because using the telephone feels mechanically ungainly as much as socially so. Don’t Hate the Phone Call, Hate the Phone (Ian Bogost; The Atlantic)
Language like “interface-free” and “invisible UI” point up just how stuck we are on the idea of VISUAL interfaces. (Josh Clark, @bigmediumjosh; Twitter)
Beyond the antenna designed for a smartphone, Apple notes that the design could also relate to Apple Watch, a MacBook an iMac, an iPad, iPod, gaming device or health monitoring device, and so on. Apple Designs Advanced Wireless Antenna with Unique Sapphire Structure for Killer iPhone Form Factor & Beyond (Jack Purcher; Patently Apple)
That second snippet sounds a bit obvious, in that everything needs to be carried before it’s used. More broadly, though, it prompts ideas about other form factors, including wearables.
