Apple has filed a patent that details designs for an all-glass iPhone which would have a wrap-around display for images on both the front and back sides.
With bold new designs being created by the company for both its Watches and Mac products, Glass is now the new black.
Although the design patent application was filed last week it does not mean that any of these ideas will be realized.
Apple has applied for patents in order to make an all-glass iPhone with screens on the sides
This illustration shows the all-glass iPhone in its finest detail. It has displays on both the back and front, along with the functional touchscreen buttons at the sides.
It is an iPhone inside a glass enclosure with the buttons above the screen.
The glass iPhone is described as an, ‘Electronic device with glass enclosure’ although 9to5Mac dryly notes ‘It’s almost as if Apple has patented a glass box.’
The patent filing also include drawings which see some of the screen’s buttons curved along the edge of the phone including ones to activate airplane mode, Wi-Fi enabling, and controls for volume.
The filing is what makes the filing stand out. It suggests that the product will have a display on its back, not only the front.
This lengthy patent filing reveals that the screen will run across the edge of each phone, so all sides can display information.
The phone may look like an artist impression if it has screens on six sides
A display on the back of your phone could also be present. This can show you who is calling.
With its curving sides and round shape, the glass iPhone is easy to hold in one’s hands.
Illustration of design patent shows that buttons spill out to the sides in order for them to be easy-to-use.
You might have trouble identifying which direction is front or back if there are screens on each side.
The filing noted the challenges inherit in producing, ‘a device with multiple displays viewable through multiple transparent sides–including embodiments where displays are visible through each of the six main sides of the device.’
Apple has also filed drawings for a all-glass, cylindrical Mac Pro tower. This will allow owners and users to view the components in action.
This filing includes images of the Apple Watch that may be made with glass enclosures, with the edge of the screen blended seamlessly with the case.
Also, the filing shows photos of an Apple Watch with glass enclosures that blend seamlessly into the watch’s case.
Apple has also filed drawings for an all-glass, cylindrical Mac Pro tower. These would enable the parts to be clearly seen.
A glass iPhone design may not be realized, as it is more abstract in nature.
However, it is interesting to see the patents filed. It gives us an idea of the future plans for the company.
Apple will surely move in this direction at one point. The questions are when and where …’ Twitter tech Ben Lovejoy looked at the patent.
Also, plans were released to create a tower with glass enclosure for a Mac computer. The components of the unit could also be seen through it.
The iPhone 13 just hit stores in September and has been so popular the phone needs to be ordered in advance.
Experts have already begun to plan the next generation of the most beloved smartphone on the planet.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman stated in the latest Power On newsletter that incremental changes to iPhone 13 will allow Apple the opportunity to focus its attention on an overhaul of the iPhone 14 design. He expects these improvements to occur by 2022.
Gurman did not provide any details about the overhaul, but he said that consumers can expect “new entry-level models and Pro models as well as a total redesign.”
Jon Prosser, an Apple tipter, predicted that the iPhone 14 would also see its notch removed in favor of a punch-hole selfie cam.
Prosser is the host of Front Page Tech YouTube Channel. Prosser claims to have seen renders for the iPhone 14 Pro Max featuring the punch-hole design.
Ming-Chi Kuo was an Apple analyst who predicted earlier this year that iPhone 14 Pro Max Max and iPhone 14 Pro Max Max, the highest-end iPhones would be stripped of their ‘notch’ to make way for a punch-hole camera.
Days after the iPhone 13 went on sale, Apple prognosticator Mark Gurman said the Apple iPhone 14 would see a ‘complete redesign’