Apple is thought to be planning a major iPhone overhaul for the handset’s 10th anniversary next year. According to a new report out of Asia, it will be the first iPhone to rip off Samsung’s popular curved glass designs.
Oh, how the tables have turned. No one had any interest in copying Samsung’s smartphone designs when the South Korean company continued to use cheap and tacky plastic for everything, but since switching to gorgeous glass, that’s all changed.
Even Apple, which famously sued Samsung (and won!) for copying the design of its original iPhone, is now preparing to deliver Samsung-like smartphones with curved glass, according to a report from Japan’s Nikkei Asian Review.
Citing a source familiar with Apple’s plans, the report claims we will see three different iPhone variations in 2017, one of which will sport a 5.5-inch or larger display that is curved on both sides — just like the Galaxy S7 edge and the new Galaxy Note 7.
Foxconn is expected to supply that glass, according to Nikkei, while Samsung is expected to manufacture the curved OLED displays that will sit beneath. The other iPhones in Apple’s lineup could also get OLED displays, but they will be flat.
Apple is said to be hoping that a curved iPhone will boost demand for the device at a time when sales are falling. Curved smartphones have been a success for Samsung in recent years, with the Galaxy S7 edge outselling the flat Galaxy S7.
This isn’t the first time we’ve heard that Apple is working on a curved glass iPhone for 2017. Back in March, reliable KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo made the same claim, and promised the device would also get a larger 5.8-inch screen.
Kuo also expects next year’s iPhone to offer wireless charging and more biometric recognition, such as iris scanning — another feature that would be adopted from Samsung, which put iris scanning in the new Galaxy Note 7.
