Oppo today gave a glimpse at its ‘Waterfall Screen’ technology. The company showcased a phone with a ‘Waterfall Screen’ which had its display curved at an extreme angle on its edges. Oppo’s approach is similar to other flagship Android smartphones that have a curved display, though the degree of curve is higher here.

Oppo says that with its Waterfall Screen technology, it is taking “borderless smartphone innovation to new heights.”

Samsung was the first to launch a smartphone with a curved display with the Galaxy Note Edge in 2014. Since then, we have seen a number of Android OEMs adopt curved OLED displays on their flagship smartphones.

Oppo is jumping on that same bandwagon and it is looking to distinguish itself by increasing the degree of the curve (88-degrees) and reducing bezels to a minimal. The curve is so extreme that there is no place on the sides of the phone to house power and volume buttons which means Oppo will have to relocate them somewhere else.

While a smartphone with a ‘Waterfall Screen’ looks good in photos, it is not going to be practical to use in real life. This is because one will accidentally keep touching the curved edges leading to false touch inputs. This is an issue that plagued many smartphones with curved OLED displays initially. Samsung itself struggled with this before it tweaked the degree of the curve and managed to find a sweet spot.

Knowing Oppo, it is only a matter of time before we see the company brings its Waterfall Screen technology to a commercial product. It would then be interesting to see how the company tackles the usability issue with the curved display panel.