> Speakers usually sit on the sides or back of our devices. The sound is supposed to be coming from the image that our eyes see on the screen, but our ears know it’s coming from somewhere else.
Then put the speakers on the front. Of course rear or side-firing speakers are going to sound like crap. This is a totally self-inflicted problem and could be solved by just having front-firing speakers like some phones still do. The ghost centre channel should be fine for smartphones. It's not like you have several people watching a single phone complaining that the ghost centre channel is 2 inches too far to the left/right...
> could be solved by just having front-firing speakers
That makes the bezel bigger, which (for a given screen size) makes the phone bigger and harder to fit in your pocket.
If this technology can move the speakers to the front without making the phone larger, that seems like a real benefit. Especially since phone size is such a common complaint.
Then put the speakers on the front. Of course rear or side-firing speakers are going to sound like crap. This is a totally self-inflicted problem and could be solved by just having front-firing speakers like some phones still do. The ghost centre channel should be fine for smartphones. It's not like you have several people watching a single phone complaining that the ghost centre channel is 2 inches too far to the left/right...