With boosted dimensions, new aspect ratios, bezel-busting designs and curved edges, innovative displays are perhaps the most striking -- and immediately noticeable -- feature of the latest cutting-edge smartphones presented in recent months. The trend is also expected to spread to sector heavyweights Samsung and Apple, bringing new codes of smartphone design firmly into the mainstream.

1. Bezel-less display

In fall 2016, Xiaomi caused a sensation with its Mi Mix smartphone designed by Philippe Starck, featuring a prominent 6.4-inch virtually borderless display covering over 90% of the handset's front face. The phone also shakes up current design norms by ditching the mechanical home button to make more room for the screen. One major advantage of this type of screen is a boost in display size without necessarily increasing a device's overall form factor. The Xiaomi Mi Mix marks the beginning of a trend that's likely to spread to Samsung and Apple product lines.

2. Curved designs

South Korean tech giant Samsung has been a pioneer in the field of curved screens, successfully rolling them out to the mass market via the Galaxy S6 Edge and S7 Edge. In these models, the screen curves down over the sides of the handset for bezel-free edges, an idea that has now been picked up by other handset makers, principally Chinese manufacturers like Xiaomi (Mi Note) and Vivo (Xplay5 Elite). The technology still seems to have a bright future ahead. In late 2016, Sharp presented a totally borderless curved screen theoretically capable of covering the entire surface of a handset. This could come to several models from 2017.

3. Alternative screen formats

Alternative screen formats are another way of refreshing smartphone design and handling. LG has taken the plunge with its G6, presented at the Mobile World Congress in Spain in February. The handset has an impressive 5.7-inch display that covers most of the device's front face. What's new here, though, is the 18:9 aspect ratio (2880x1440 pixels), a space-saving format that makes room to place two identically sized square application panes side by side when using two apps simultaneously with Android's new multitasking function.