Latest rumors on iPhone 17 “slim”

[theorist9]

For the past nearly two decades, the majority of phones have had a screen that is always on the outside (and some people buy folios to protect them). That we would suddenly see a need to have the screen fully enclosed by the phone seems like a step into the past. I mean, the past had it upsides, like when you could go somewhere and be 100% out of touch with everybody (like everyone else around you, good times), but I am not convinced that a lot of people want to make that short step backward.

Agreed, but that's separate from the question we were discussing, which is whether or not a slideout design (as most envision it) means you are necessarily going to have some screen on the outside. I contended that it would, and your design shows my contention was correct. You'd need a very different design (e.g., a "window shade" design, where the entire screen retracts onto a roller), for it to be otherwise.