Image Credit: Nickolay Lamm
Apple is looking to develop a curved iPhone, with the tech giant apparently aiming to follow in the footsteps of Samsung’s Galaxy Edge devices.
A patent filed by the company reveals that they are looking to develop a curved smartphone, with similar functionality to Samsung’s Edge devices. This isn’t the first time it’s been suggested that Apple is looking into developing a curved smartphone, with Business Korea claiming back in 2015 that the company were looking to produce devices with edged displays before the end of the decade. The Korean publication wrote: “According to an industry source, Apple is ‘serious’ about transferring its flagship product lineup to one equipped with organic light-emitting diode (OLED), screens as those displays can solve its existing weak points such as color saturation, accuracy, and brightness.”
It now seems like these rumors could be correct, with a patent filed on April 21, 2015 by Apple making its way into the public domain. The patent describes “bent flexible displays” that “may be bent to form front side displays and edge displays,” which sounds similar to the Edge but also to the bendable smartphone technology we have been seeing more of as of late. Though bendable smartphones are still a long way off from becoming a mass consumer product, one such device with a graphene-based flexible frame is set to go on sale later this year in China, showing that the seemingly absurd tech may have some legs.
Apple’s patent featured images highlighting the flexible screen, which you can view below:
Tech companies file patents all the time, so it’s uncertain whether anything will actually come of this idea. However, they at least offer confirmation that Apple is looking at this technology, perhaps indicating that we could be seeing a curved iPhone sooner rather than later. With many feeling that the company’s declining sales are a result of a lack of innovation from them in recent years, perhaps the introduction of a curved screen could be exactly what Apple needs.
