Thanks for the information! But my understanding was exactly in the direction of the issue you point out - the fundamental limit being the sensor size. A curve

Thanks for the information! But my understanding was exactly in the direction of the issue you point out - the fundamental limit being the sensor size. A curved sensor would, by allowing a relatively thinner (due to fewer elements) lens assembly, could have a larger area, and still remain within the allowed overall "thickness budget" of the smartphone. Hence my surprise that they seem to have gone nowhere.