Buttons, ports and speaker grills are absent from Vivo's Apex 2019 concept phone, which is wrapped in a single piece of glass.
Chinese electronics company Vivo created the unibody smartphone to give consumers "a glimpse into the future of smartphone design" where both look and functionality are streamlined.
It showed off a unibody prototype made of its distinctive curved "Waterdrop Glass" at a launch event in Hong Kong this week.
Although many contemporary smartphones feature glass on both the front and back, Vivo had to develop several new technologies to completely eliminate the usual openings, seams and bezels ? the frame surrounding the screen.
The glass itself is the speaker, vibrating to produce sound and avoiding the need for a grill.
Instead of physical buttons, the Apex 2019 uses a combination of capacitive touch and pressure-sensing. Users can sleep or wake up the phone or change the volume by pressing on the sides of the glass where the bezel would usually be.
Additionally, the full screen is embedded with fingerprint scanners. That not only means that users can unlock the phone with a natural touch to any part of the display, but that they can open an app and securely log into it with one simple press.
Vivo also boasts a Fingerprint Light function, which lights up nearby pixels when a finger is close to the display. This additional light source helps with obtaining a clear fingerprint reading.

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