Apple has filed a patent in which it shows what the iPhone of the future might look like. Glass body and no buttons: here's how it's made
Will the iPhone of the future be made entirely of glass? So far, this type of device was only the preserve of science fiction films or TV series set in the future. In many modern films appear glass smartphones and tablets, devices without buttons or ports, a small glass parallelepiped with a single screen and without edges. Fantasy? No, a recent patent filed by Apple seems to propose this innovative solution.
The Cupertino company has created, at least for now on paper, an iPhone made entirely of transparent glass. The drawings of the patent in question show an iPhone made of glass, without edges or rear shells, also absent the classic notch. The entire body is made of glass, without the presence of keys to turn on the device or to raise and lower the volume. To interact with the device you have to use only your hands: everything is done via touch. When will we see this iPhone on the market? Hard to say. For the moment it is only a patent and it is not said that it will become reality.
How the glass iPhone is made
Apple wants to be ready when the first devices without ports and without keys will be launched on the market. The iPhone of the future is practically a small block of glass, it has no edges, no notch. Not only that, in the documentation accompanying the drawings filed, it refers to some areas more transparent that make it possible to view the information on a display below the glass surface.
The characteristic of the glass would make it possible to use as a screen different parts of the device, such as the rear area, as well as the edges, which could accommodate touch controls with haptic feedback. The strength of this new device would be the use of a single material with significant advantages from the aesthetic point of view and assembly.
A truly innovative idea?
The Cupertino company is not the first manufacturer to hypothesize an extension of the screen along the edges of the smartphone. Xiaomi has already had its say with the Mi Mix Alpha concept and other Chinese manufacturers are also interested in the project. For now we are talking only about a patent, we do not know if Apple will produce sooner or later such a smartphone, for now there are still no microscopic cameras to be placed under the display that can project images on a glass surface, but engineers are working and already some small step forward has been made. But it will still take some time, sure that flexible screens and new materials will change forever the concept of smartphone so far known.