Apple concept art

Read Cult of Mac’s latest posts on Apple concept art:

iPad mini concept shows why it really needs to lose the bezels

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iPad mini concept is cool but not happening.
An iPad mini concept drops the size of this tablet even more by cutting the bezels.
Concept: Parker Ortolani

The iPad mini has a 7.9-inch screen surrounded by bezels. Big ones. So a concept artist drew up some images that show how much smaller this tablet could be with an edge-to-edge display. The result is a device that’s nearly 20% smaller.

But Apple might be going in the opposite direction: making a mini with a larger screen.

First Apple Watch concept drawing reveals brilliance of original designs

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Apple Watch concept
Imran Chaudhri drew this Apple Watch concept sketch long before the release of this wearable.
Photo: Imran Chaudhri

Imran Chaudhri, who played a pivotal role in the Apple Watch’s creation, offered an inside look into the device’s design process Friday, showing off an early concept drawing of the smartwatch’s home screen.

His sketch, shared on the 5-year anniversary of the Apple Watch launch, looks amazingly close to what is in use now. He also showed off a video of the very first Apple Watch band and talked about the history of some Watch faces.

iPhone concept with detachable display will blow your mind

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iPhone concept with a removable secondary display
No content with one display, an iPhone concept suggests a pair — one removable.
Screenshot: Caviar

Rejecting the idea of flexible screens, an artist at Caviar dreamed up an iPhone concept with a detachable secondary display instead. This allows for real multitasking, or the handset to be snapped into a tablet or netbook.

Not stoping there, the artist created a concept video with multiple other innovative iPhone designs that might debut in next decade.

Watch it now:

iOS 13 concept shows how iPad file management ought to work

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iOS 13 files app iPad mount an external drive
Having an iPad mount an external drive isn’t asking for too much, is it?
Photo: Daniel Korpai

A new concept video imagines Apple’s tablet without the limitations on file management that frustrate so many iPad users. In it, the designer combines his re-imagined iOS Files app with earlier work improving multitasking.

Watch his video now:

Brilliant folding touchscreen MacBook concept is almost a reality

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Astro HQ’s MacBook concept has a flexible touchscreen in place of the keyboard and trackpad.
This MacBook concept has a flexible touchscreen in place of the keyboard and trackpad.
Photo: Astro HQ

Astro HQ, makers of Luna Display, dreamed up a macOS laptop concept with a foldable display that covers the entire interior of the MacBook. The design includes a touchscreen and Apple Pencil support.

Artists’ concepts are often impractical dreams for the future but a version of this can be assembled right now. Sort of.

Beautiful iPhone XII concept kills the notch and buttons

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Check out a proposed iPhone XII with a screen that curves around all four edges.
Check out a proposed iPhone XII with a screen that curves around all four edges.
Photo: Kevin Noki/ConceptsiPhone

One way to make the iPhone’s screen larger without increasing the size of the device itself is wrap it around all four edges. An artist‘s video imagines how such an iOS handset would look, with no physical buttons and an under-screen camera.

Watch his concept video now:

macOS concept proposes dumping free-floating windows

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Perhaps the MacBook should adopt split-screen multitasking instead of floating windows.
Perhaps the MacBook should adopt split-screen multitasking instead of floating windows.
Photo: Thomas Weinreich

Many people want their iPad to work more like a MacBook. A concept video proposes the opposite: having macOS function more like iOS on a tablet. That means no more free-floating windows.

Watch the video to see the idea in action:

iOS 13 concept proposes Split View for iPhone 11

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An iOS 13 concept suggests working with two apps at once on an iPhone screen.
An iOS 13 concept suggests working with two apps at once on an iPhone screen.
Photo: Gunho Lee/ConceptsiPhone

An artist dreaming up ideas for Apple’s next handset suggests bringing side-by-side multitasking from the iPad to the iPhone. He also proposes Apple create a super-slim wireless clip-on battery.

Watch his video previewing these features and more:

Gorgeous iPhone XI concept kills the notch… sort of

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This is what the iPhone XI might look like if it had a “hole-punch” instead of a notch.
This is what the iPhone XI might look like if it had a “hole-punch” instead of a notch.
Photo: ConceptsiPhone

The notch at the top of the iPhone display has become a familiar part of recent models, but one designer considered another option. He created an iPhone XI mockup with a small hole in the screen instead.

Watch the video he created to demonstrate the idea now:

Apple AR glasses concept is both futuristic and retro

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Proposed Apple AR glasses would run realityOS, their own operating system.
Proposed Apple AR glasses would run realityOS, their own operating system.
Photo: Dominik Hofacker/ConceptsiPhone

An artist created a vision for a set of augmented reality glasses running a new Apple operating system. His concept video is built around the strong evidence that Apple is designing just such a product.

Watch the video now:

Folding iPhone concept video mixes rumors and dreams

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The folding iPhone in this concept video is just what many are hoping for.
The folding iPhone in this concept video is just what many are hoping for.
Photo: Antonio De Rosa

Apple is at least exploring the possibility of making a folding iPhone, and artists have been playing around with designs as well.

Today we have a concept video showing a flexible iOS model that also includes some of the features that are expected to be in this fall’s iPhone XI.

Watch it now:

Concept ad shows the magic of 6.1-inch iPhone 9

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Here's what the advertising for the iPhone 9 might look like.
Here's what the advertising for the iPhone 9 might look like.
Screenshot: Lee Gungho

The 6.1-inch iPhone that’s expected to be unveiled next week has the potential to become Apple’s top seller.   Advertising will play a big part of making it so, and a clever graphic artist went ahead and created a TV ad for this upcoming large but inexpensive iOS smartphone.

Watch it now:

Beautiful concept images show 2018 iPhone in its full glory

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An artist compiled various rumors about the 2018 iPhone into images, including this one.
An artist compiled several rumors about the 2018 iPhone into images, including this one.
Photo: DBS Designing

Rumors of the next iPhone are running hot and heavy, and an artist has assembled the various unconfirmed reports into concept images of the device Apple might release this fall.

These visual speculations come from Muhsin M. Belaal Auckburaully of DBS Designing, who gives Martin Hajek some real competition in Apple concept drawings. 

Why Apple should make a cheap activity band (and what it might look like)

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A no-frills Apple fitness tracker could get new users hooked on the Activity app.
A no-frills Apple fitness tracker could get new users hooked on the Activity app.
Image: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac

The Activity app is one of Apple’s most important and powerful products. Its three brightly colored rings are changing people’s lives around the world, inspiring individuals to make healthier choices throughout their day.

The trouble is, if you want to use the Activity app, your only option right now is to buy an Apple Watch — and Apple Watches are expensive.

With this kind of game-changing product, Apple usually wants to reach as big an audience as possible. Take the iPod, for example. It was too expensive for some consumers. so Apple released a no-frills, sub-$99 version called the iPod Shuffle. Could a similar strategy work for the Activity app? An affordable activity band from Apple could be a Fitbit killer.

This is what the iPhone 8 might look like

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iPhone8
We hope the iPhone 8 is this beautiful.
Photo: Imran Taylor

An iPhone 8 mockup based on all the latest rumors looks like quite a hit. The iPhone concept art from designer Imran Taylor builds on rumors that Apple might ditch the iPhone 7’s aluminum frame in favor of a stainless steel band sandwiched by two pieces of curved glass.

Taylor’s detailed renders show how incredible the 10th anniversary iPhone might be, if it brings an all-new look rather than relying on the unibody design of the past few years.

Take a closer look.