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Samsung's more daring phone designs: a visual history
With Samsung poised to reveal its latest take(s) on the smartphone in a matter of hours, we thought it was as good a time as any to take a look back. The Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge+ are rumored to be on tap for tomorrow's festivities, two devices that would continue the company's affinity for super-sized phones and curved displays -- both of which are trends it started years ago. Of course, Samsung has experimented with a number of unique design flourishes. Some of them ended up setting the tone for the entire industry. Others, well, never really achieved liftoff (and with good reason).
Motorola's phones: a visual history
Since 1984 Motorola has trotted out some of the most iconic and memorable mobile designs in the industry. Whether it's the StarTAC, RAZR V3 or the original Droid, Motorola consistently offers something unique through design. It even allows you to make the final call on color schemes with its more recent devices so you can create a gadget that's truly one of a kind. As the company is poised to make its next big reveal tomorrow, let's take a look at some of those notable handsets that span four decades of mobile phones. [Image: AP Photo/Christof Stache]
Apple aesthetics: a look at the iPhone's design history
In order to properly appreciate the brand-spanking-new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, you first have to examine its lineage. 2007's OG iPhone introduced iOS to the masses, and 2013 saw the release of two separate models for the first time. Today, the long-rumored successors to those 5s and 5c handsets was unveiled, and with them comes new aesthetic tools that continue Apple's lineage of design prowess. Let's take a gander back at the full line, and examine the finer points that made each one unique.
Google Search: A visual history
"To organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful." That was one of the primary goals Larry Page and Sergey Brin set when they launched Google in 1998 as a privately owned search company. Since then, the Mountain View-based outfit has branched out, creating a mobile operating system, mapping service, cloud-based productivity apps, branded devices and, now, smart thermostats. All of those offshoots, however, always point back to the company's original aim: search. That baseline service is something Google's been making refinements to ever since its inception. A practice that continues to this day, with the company constantly improving upon the usability and design of its search-based offerings. This means cleaning up a UI when needed, and launching new features that serve up that much-lauded universal accessibility in short order. What may come across as a small box centered in a vast expanse of white is, as you'll see, actually something that's constantly evolved since '98.
Facebook: A visual history
Sit down. Strap on your virtual reality headset. Now you're navigating the crowd of your online friends, sparking face-to-face conversations in a virtual world peppered with branded "experiences." Gone are the days of clicking through images of your friends' far-flung vacations; now you walk the beaches of Fiji, sipping tropical drinks, watching and hearing the waves crash like you're there -- because you are.
