A new patent has been granted to Apple which details a device that has a wraparound curved display and a transparent housing. Drawings in the patent imagine a device with a display that completely wraps around it, covering the front, rear, and the sides with very slim bezels at the top and bottom. Don’t be surprised to see the 30-pin connector in this image as this patent was filed back in 2011, it has only been granted today.
The patent points out that quite a lot of space is wasted in a large majority of portable electronic devices as they have a display on one side and an opaque housing covering the rear surface. This leaves the side and rear surfaces of the handset unused or in some cases playing host to buttons and switches that offer limited functionality.
Apple’s invention seeks to change that by introducing an improved form factor which enables the functionality to spread to more than one surface of the device. The patent proposes that a wraparound display is used to completely enclose the internal components so that visual content can be presented at any portion of the entire housing.
Since it would be tricky for people to hold an iPhone that has a wraparound touchscreen display it’s possible that the rear and edges may only have a passive display without touch sensors.
Nevertheless, this is a patent after all, and Apple patents countless inventions without ever bringing them to market. Whether or not we’ll ever see an iPhone with a 360-degree wraparound display is anybody’s guess right now.
Filed in . Read more about iPhone and Patents. Source: 9to5mac