Bloomberg final month instructed that Apple is engaged on a twentieth anniversary iPhone, which could signify the fruits of the corporate’s long-held ambition to create “a single slab of glass.”
Few particulars have been reported as but, however a brand new supply-chain report claims that will probably be completely bezel-free, utilizing show tech being developed by Samsung and LG …
twentieth anniversary iPhone
Mark Gurman first reported plans for the 2027 gadget, to be unveiled 20 years after the launch of the unique iPhone. It wasn’t precisely an in depth report, comprising a single sentence.
The corporate is making ready a serious shake-up for the iPhone’s 20-year anniversary, together with a foldable model and a daring new Professional mannequin that makes extra in depth use of glass.
The phrase “extra in depth use of glass” is as obscure as could be. However describing it as a “daring” new mannequin does recommend one thing relatively extra formidable than merely even slimmer bezels.
Completely bezel-free design
Korean web site ET Information as we speak experiences that Apple’s suppliers are engaged on a “4-sided bending show expertise,” which seems to explain a design the place the glass bends across the sides on all 4 sides, fully eradicating all bezels from the entrance of the telephone.
Successfully the bezels are relocated to the edges of the gadget, to be invisible from the entrance. The report additionally refers to an under-display digicam, which might take away the necessity for a punch-hole cutout within the show.
It’s identified that Apple will begin negotiations on the twentieth anniversary iPhone show quickly. We’re going to have a gathering with Samsung Show and LG Show to determine the applying expertise […]
4-sided bending show expertise are being developed, so it’s noteworthy whether or not they are going to be lastly commercialized […] UDC is to cover the digicam underneath the display, and the four-sided bending is the implementation of a full display and not using a bezel.
All of that might certainly appear to suit the “single slab of glass” ambition described by former design chief Jony Ive. Whereas Ive might now be a part of Apple’s historical past, that imaginative and prescient of its future is believed to nonetheless be very a lot alive throughout the firm.
Stable-state battery
The report additionally references a solid-state battery.
Pure silicon battery is a expertise that may dramatically improve the power density and improve the battery life by utilizing 100% silicon as a substitute of graphite as a cathode materials.
Battery tech is a kind of areas the place we hold listening to guarantees of breakthrough expertise that can dramatically improve battery life – but it surely by no means appears to truly materialize. Nevertheless, solid-state batteries do appear to be lastly altering that.
The primary prototypes have been developed again in 2017, and the tech lastly landed this yr. My colleague Fernando Silva examined a solid-state MagSafe battery pack simply final week, and was impressed. So the concept of this tech being integrated into an iPhone in 2027 is definitely fully believable.
9to5Mac’s Take
The unique Bloomberg report was exceedingly obscure, relying totally on the phrase “daring” to recommend one thing considerably past the modest-paced evolutionary adjustments we’ve seen lately.
The twentieth anniversary angle additionally creates expectations of one thing particular. Whereas Apple doesn’t usually make an enormous deal of product anniversaries – stating that the corporate prefers to look ahead relatively than again – it might or will not be coincidence that 2017 noticed an entire new design language within the type of the iPhone X.
There’s little question that smartphone tech basically has plateaued, and that this can be a drawback for Apple. With solely modest new developments annually, lots of people are taking the perspective that they may as effectively simply proceed utilizing their years-old mannequin for some time but.
As my colleague Ryan Christoffel famous final month, an finish to this “boring period” does seem like in sight. If experiences are correct, we will look ahead to the ultra-slim iPhone 17 Air this yr and the iPhone Fold subsequent yr. A “daring” new design in 2027 would proceed that pattern, so the concept is no less than believable.
Nevertheless, it’s price noting the ET Information report suggests solely that Apple’s important show suppliers are “growing” the tech to make potential the only slab of glass imaginative and prescient. Whether or not it should really exist by 2027 is an entire different query.
Highlighted equipment
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