Maybe Samsung isn’t the problem, maybe bar phone design has simply peaked

The leaked rear design of Samsung’s Galaxy S27 Ultra may not be final, but it gives us a good idea of the direction Samsung is considering. And unsurprisingly, the sketches have already drawn comparisons with recent iPhones and several phones from Asian manufacturers.

Technology enthusiasts have valid reasons to question that direction. Personally, I would still love to see Samsung bring back something like the horizontal camera design of the Galaxy S10 series. It was distinctive, instantly recognisable, and unmistakably Samsung.

But the more I look at modern smartphones, the more I wonder whether we’re expecting manufacturers to solve a problem that may no longer have an obvious solution.

The front of almost every conventional smartphone has looked fundamentally the same for years. It’s a large rectangular display surrounded by increasingly thin bezels, usually with a small camera cutout somewhere near the top.

That leaves the back as one of the few areas where manufacturers can still establish a strong visual identity. And even there, the available space isn’t as unrestricted as it looks.

Large camera sensors and increasingly complex zoom hardware take up considerable space near the top of the device. Wireless charging coils, magnetic accessories, batteries, cooling systems and other internal components place their own restrictions on where everything can go.

This may explain why enthusiasts now spend so much time debating camera islands. Once the display has taken over almost the entire front, the camera area becomes one of the few remaining places where one phone can look considerably different from another.

Google has its horizontal camera bar. Apple has moved towards a wider camera plateau. Samsung has experimented with everything from the Galaxy S10’s horizontal layout to the Galaxy S21’s Contour Cut design and the separate camera rings used on more recent devices.

But how many fundamentally different approaches are left?

That doesn’t mean Samsung should stop trying. I would still prefer the company to take more risks and establish a stronger visual identity of its own. But perhaps the similarities we’re seeing across the industry aren’t always the result of manufacturers running out of ideas.

The conventional smartphone itself may simply be running out of places to put those ideas.

This is also why Samsung’s investment in foldables makes so much sense.

A foldable immediately gives designers something a conventional phone no longer can: a fundamentally different canvas. The Galaxy Z Fold and Galaxy Z Flip lines have already shown how changing the form factor can alter everything from proportions and displays to hinges, cameras and the way a device is used.

Samsung is continuing to experiment with different foldable designs, and we may eventually see even more unusual devices, including rollable or expandable phones.

I’ve already argued that there may be a strategic reason Samsung is moving towards aligning more closely with Apple. That doesn’t mean I like every decision it makes, and it doesn’t mean Samsung should stop trying to stand out.

But the more I look at the smartphone market today, the less surprising all of this becomes.