Oliver Haslam·

Apple Patents Designs For New iPhone, Apple Watch, Mac Made Of Glass

Apple has been granted a new patent that would allow it to build multiple new devices out of single slabs of glass.

The patent, first spotted by Patently Apple, is full of legalese but could actually open the door to some interesting devices.

The use of glass is the main feature here, with Apple talking about glass enclosures made of six sides. Quote how Apple would then shield the internals isn’t immediately clear, however.

An electronic device includes a six-sided glass enclosure defining an interior volume and comprising a first glass member and a second glass member. The first glass member defines at least a portion of a first major side of the six-sided glass enclosure, at least a portion of a peripheral side of the six-sided glass enclosure, a first region along the peripheral side and having a first thickness, and a second region along the peripheral side and having a second thickness different from the first thickness. The second glass member is attached to the first glass member and defines at least a portion of a second major side of the six-sided glass enclosure. The electronic device further includes a touchscreen display within the interior volume and positioned adjacent at least a portion of each of the six sides of the six-sided glass enclosure.

One potential could be for Apple to create its glass box and then put displays on each of the six sides. That immediately feels like something that should be a number of years away from being feasible, however.

That might also bring us to the point that, as ever, Apple patents shouldn’t necessarily be considered as likely to turn into products or features any time soon — if ever. Apple patents a whole ton of things and many simply disappear. That doesn’t mean that this particular patent isn’t interesting, however, and it’s always fun to imagine what a full glass iPhone could be like.

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