Microsoft was working on a nearly bezel-less Windows phone back in 2014

It seems Microsoft was working on a bezel-less smartphone before Samsung, Google and Apple, all the way back in 2014, according to a new report.

The Microsoft Lumia 435 was destined to be one of the industry’s first bezel-less smartphones, however, when that 4-inch Windows-powered device was officially released, it didn’t look like the image below.

The device, which was given the in-development codename of Vela, was going to cost under $200 USD. Microsoft, however, scrapped the idea of a nearly bezel-less phone in late 2014 and went with the less memorable 435 design some of us likely remember.

Microsoft’s prototype  for the phone featured a 5-inch 1280 x 720 pixel resolution display, with a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 200 processor, 4GB of storage and 1GB of RAM with a 1,800 mAh battery.

The thin top bezel had a speaker grill, while the lower bezel contained the smartphone’s front facing camera, similar to the Xiaomi Mi Mix devices.

Though this smartphone never made it to market, Windows Central — the source of this leak — gave the prototype a full review.

Source: Windows Central