The patent is a fairly complicated one, and even mentions a method of layering flexible, see-through displays on top of each other in order to produce different visual effects, including the appearance of 3D. As well as that, built-in facial recognition is mentioned. The glass used to surround the display is described as either seamless, or featuring small design elements to hide where one piece joins another. One major advantage is that glass is relatively radio transparent, which is why the current generation iPhone 5 has the top and bottom glass 'window' panels on the back of its casing. Apple suggests a number of different device designs, representing different geometric shapes, that could be used with an all-encompassing external glass display. However, the most interesting thing is that the patent talks about removable end caps that could allow more than one device to be joined together. Wouldn't this be brilliant? It is quite futuristic and seems like the design won't be made into reality for another couple of years.
Another neat trick is the way in which the proposed device would recognise what kind of touch to treat as meaningful, and which ones to ignore, since the entire phone is essentially one big touchscreen. Apple describes a way of detecting how a user is actually handling the device to solve that problem, using on-board cameras and facial recognition to figure out where to display content, and where to register touch. It does seem very complicated, doesn't it? The final element of the patent is a version that contains layered, transparent displays that can each show different content, or layers of a single image to achieve 3D effects. It could also be used to place a HUD or additional information on top of another image, essentially building a second-screen or augmented reality experience into a single device. This would seriously improve the user experience.
Another neat trick is the way in which the proposed device would recognise what kind of touch to treat as meaningful, and which ones to ignore, since the entire phone is essentially one big touchscreen. Apple describes a way of detecting how a user is actually handling the device to solve that problem, using on-board cameras and facial recognition to figure out where to display content, and where to register touch. It does seem very complicated, doesn't it? The final element of the patent is a version that contains layered, transparent displays that can each show different content, or layers of a single image to achieve 3D effects. It could also be used to place a HUD or additional information on top of another image, essentially building a second-screen or augmented reality experience into a single device. This would seriously improve the user experience.
This is the most exciting Apple patent that has been announced lately, as it demonstrates a completely re-imagined next generation iOS smartphone. But the technology is probably still years off from being economically practical, and the battery demands of a completely wraparound display would also likely be astronomical. So while I wouldn’t expect this in iPhone 6 (or even 7), it’s a good look at how the company is thinking about innovation behind closed doors. If this 'iPhone' is actually materialised then it would certainly thrash the competition out of existence; and put the company decades ahead of everyone else.
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