PS Design’s iPhone 13 concept poses a pretty interesting question. Wouldn’t it be nice if your smartphone had a display on the rear that let you see what was in the frame while you clicked selfies? Sure, you’ve got the front-facing camera for selfies, but hear me out. With multiple cameras and sensors on the smartphone’s rear, one could argue that the front-facing camera is a bit of a qualitative compromise. Instead, put a tiny display on the rear and use it to click all sorts of incredible selfies, while being able to compose your shot the way you want to. It’s something Xiaomi is apparently trying out with the Mi 11 Ultra, and it’s also something most folding phones have attempted too. PS Design’s conceptual iPhone 13 sports a secondary rear display too, although it’s capable of doing a lot more than just letting you click better selfies.
A better way to describe PS Design’s iPhone 13 concept is to compare the rear display to Apple’s closest product – the Apple Watch. The 3-inch always-on rear display practically mirrors the watch’s capabilities, allowing you to see the time, notifications, and a wide variety of other data on it. The display on the rear uses Apple’s low-temperature polycrystalline oxide (LTPO) technology to provide its always-on feature, and the fact that it sits right beside the main camera setup (and that it’s larger than the Mi 11 Ultra’s display), means the front of the phone can ditch the notch entirely, creating a beautifully bezel-less iPhone that leaves little to be desired.
Another feature on this conceptual device is its ceramic body… which does seem unusual for the iPhone line-up, but it borrows from Apple’s Watch series, offering high gloss, scratch-resistance, and the ability to hold onto color better (Apple’s red iPhones have shown the color fading over time). The white ceramic body does stand out well against the large black camera bump, almost making it look like the original Google Pixel smartphone (it’s a good look, tbh). Moreover, the large camera bump is coincidentally both wide and centrally aligned, which means the phone won’t rock when you place it on a flat surface… although, with that useful, always-on display on the back, you’re more likely to rest your phone with the camera bump facing upwards right at you!
Designer: PS Design
