GSMArena labs: 3D models let you examine the phones like never before, courtesy of Binkies 3D

Helping you select the perfect phone is what we strive to do here at GSMArena. And despite the convergence brought upon us by the touchscreen revolution, design is still a big part of that.

There are so many peculiarities that are hard to convey through a static photo and even on video. How curved is the screen? The back? How thick is the camera hump? How are the buttons positioned? And so on and so on.

In the past, you could walk into a store and examine the phone yourself. Today, that’s not always possible – even before the pandemic, much of the shopping had transitioned from in-store to online. It’s also quite common to see online-only launches these days, so a personal hands-on is not always possible.

We’ve been creating and publishing 360° spins for years now, they are created by putting a real phone on a rotating platform and taking many photos, then putting them in a widget you can spin around. But around only one axis, due to the practical limitations of photographing a real phone. So, we did what Hollywood did when practical effects became too tricky – we turned to CGI.

Below you see the new 3D widget in action. If you’re on a phone (or touch-enabled device), you can spin the phone using your finger and pinch zoom to get a better look. On desktop, just use the mouse (the wheel zooms in and out). There’s a Full Screen button on on the bottom right for an even closer look.

These browser-friendly phone models are created by Binkies 3D. The company works with many major carriers around the world, independent retailers and even manufacturers (Huawei, Sony and Samsung are on the list). And now, with us too.

There are various colors you can examine, just tap on the buttons below the phone. Binkies takes care to accurately represent the device’s paint job, which can be quite elaborate in the cases of gradients and special treatments of the back glass to create attractive optical effects.

Here’s our old 360° widget that you’ve probably seen many times before if you read our reviews:

While 3D models are not available for every phone, more and more models will be added over time. When a 3D model is not available, but we have one of our classic spins, you’ll see that instead.

Let us know how you like those models in the comments and please report any issues you might encounter.