Striking vivo Nex 3 leak points to more than 100% screen-to-body ratio

Leaker Ice Universe has shared some details on what we could expect from the rumored vivo Nex 3. The leaker posted a photo of a glass body, within which the phone would be housed, earlier today on Twitter (via The Verge). It suggests a novel new approach to smartphone design.

The glass housing would seemingly go around the entire phone, including the side edges, leaving only the top and bottom of the device open. Presumably, the top and bottom of the phone would include typical sensors and ports like a charge port and pin-hole mic. The display, however, would occupy the full front of the unit and offer a more than 100 percent screen-to-body ratio.

Screen-to-body ratio describes how much of the front-facing portion of the phone the display covers, so in this case, that would be the entire front plus a small portion of the sides as it curves around. Check it out below.

Ice Universe said the phone wouldn’t have a display hole or notch, so there’s a question around where the front and rear cameras would be placed. In this scenario, these may be placed under the display (the technology is already in the works), though it could also be some sort of dual pop-up camera.

How credible is the rumor?

The original vivo Nex from last summer arrived at the front of a recent trend of pop-up Android cameras; if a phone series was going to try to pull off something like this complete glass finish, the Nex series might be it.

The phone range being a good fit in no way means vivo is actively working such a product, though, and Ice Universe isn’t always on-the-money when it comes to leaks.

While it is only a matter of time before we get truly bezel-free smartphones, this smooth, wraparound glass idea seems too ahead of its time to be legitimate. Then again, it’s possible that the smartphone is still more than a year away — if it’s actually coming.

Where do you stand on the rumor? Probably accurate? Complete nonsense? Let me know in the comments!