There have been some interesting, albeit extremely speculative, suggestions about the future of Apple’s iPhone over the last couple of weeks. A number of well-placed and highly respected analysts have all agreed that Apple has internally made the decision to move across to using OLED display technology in future devices. One of the latest rumors has also suggested that Apple is planning on going above and beyond the current sizing specifications of the iPhone 6s Plus by producing a 5.8-inch device.
Today’s suggestion expands on that by speculating that Apple could also be looking to implement a display that wraps around the sides of the device.
This isn’t the first time that it’s been suggested that Apple could introduce a device with a curved wraparound display. Earlier in the year we were privy to an Apple patent filing that set the scene for the rumors that we are currently hearing about. That patent filing described an Apple “electronic device with a wrapped display”. The filing itself doesn’t necessarily pigeon hole the technology into a smartphone type product, but it does seem extremely likely that some type of curved display will be on Apple’s future roadmap. Given the patent filing, along with the likely move across to OLED displays that allow for the production of flexible screens, it’s hard not to fall under the spell of a larger iPhone with a curved screen.
The smartphone market already contains extremely powerful and stunning smartphones that come with a very unique display implementation, such as Samsung’s Galaxy S7 Edge. It’s highly unlikely that Apple would go down the route of producing an iPhone that contains what is essentially a carbon copy of that display setup. The report suggests that Apple could be intending on producing a device with “folded edge side screens” that would make use of a flexible OLED display, and that there’s a very high possibility of Apple utilizing an additional patent filed in 2011 or in 2013 that could see an iPhone introduced with “sidewall displays”.
The case for moving across to OLED displays from the current LCD panels used in iPhones really defines itself. Organic LED panels are much more efficient than the current panels used on the iPhone and iPad, and also deliver a highly improved visual experience when interacting with media content. Patent filings haven’t historically been a great way of predicting what could be coming from Apple from a product perspective. Given the consistency of these rumors however, there’s a very good chance we could be welcoming a larger iPhone with a curved display into our lives in the next year or so.
(via: MacRumors | image credit: T3 iPhone 6 concept)
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