14 DAY TRIAL // Apple is believed to be working on new flexible screens for a future iPhone model at a secret technology lab in Taiwan, a new report citing people with knowledge of the matter claims.
As we reported to you yesterday, Apple set up a new research facility in Longtan, northern Taiwan, where a team of approximately 50 engineers, most of them with solid experience in the display field, are working on this display technology for new products, including upcoming generations of iPhone and iPad.
While previous reports indicated that Apple was developing OLED screens for the 2018 iPhone, Digitimes now claims that the Cupertino-based company is actually working on a flexible display that could be used for both phones and tablets running iOS.
No bezel?
It appears that this flexible screen could also be bezel-free, which would represent a huge improvement over the traditional design used by the iPhone. But it will be interesting to see how Apple manages to handle the transition to a bezel-free design, given the fact that the home button could thus need to be eliminated completely.
Details are not yet available, but a flexible OLED screen could only be used on the iPhone 8, as the next generation will certainly come with an LCD display, just like the existing model. iPhone 7 is scheduled to arrive in mid-2016, as Apple is planning to move the typical fall release date earlier next year.
For the moment, there are a lot of uncertain things regarding Apple’s upcoming iPhone models, but for now, it looks like the next generation won’t bring too many significant changes. iPhone 8, on the other hand, is very likely to include more breaking upgrades, including this rumored flexible screen plus OLED technology for better display quality.
Take everything with a healthy pinch of salt until we get closer to the arrival of the next iPhone, when leaks should start surfacing.