The upcoming generation of iPhones could see a radical design overhaul. A new OLED panel technology is in the works that wraps around the device almost vertically, turning the sides of the phone into an active part of the display. This type of screen, known as an all-around bezel-less display, is expected to significantly surpass the curved panels of the past.
Flat front and sharp right angle bend
Unlike older curved “waterfall” screens, the main display area remains completely flat. However, the OLED panel itself curves sharply downward at all four edges and corners at an angle approaching 90 degrees. These curved parts of the screen effectively replace the classic metal or plastic frame of the phone’s body.
Thanks to this solution, the display cabling and other components can beoneThe buttons, which are normally hidden under the black edges, are moved directly to the side edges. The front of the device will thus offer a view of a surface completely free of any frames and the black edge will practically disappear. The new design also paves the way for an iPhone that does not have mechanical buttons at all.
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Production hurdles and an intermediate step to the anniversary model
However, several major technical challenges still prevent the deployment of this revolutionary technology in mass production. The main obstacles include optical distortion and color shift at sharp corners, maintaining a reliable protective layer of the OLED panel during such extreme bending, and, most importantly, the placement of signal antennas when all sides are covered by the display.
This concept goes much further than the more gently curved four-sided display that is being talked about in connection with the upcoming anniversary model. iPhonemk twentieth anniversary next year. Annual model iPhone 20 could thus serve as a functional intermediate stage before all the complications associated with the production of a completely frameless body can be resolved. A frameless iPhone has been talked about for many years and according to some it is actually planned. A kind of first step was supposed to be the Liquid Glass design language, when the mutual combination could look great. Whether we will actually see something like this, however, only time will tell.
