The shrinking screen bezel supposedly coming to the iPhone 15 Pro models are apparently only the start. Apple asked makers of OLED panels for iPhone to develop ones that have no bezels at all, according to a report coming out of Asia.
If true, it will enable Apple to put larger displays into future iPhones models without increasing the overall size of the device.
iPhone could go completely screen bezel-free
The blank space around the screen of phone or TV is called the bezel. It serves multiple purposes. It adds to the structural integrity of the LCD/OLED panel. And, for phones, it gives users additional space to hold the device.
But these days the trend is toward smaller bezels. People want the largest screen they can get in a pocketable computer.
Apple is going all in on that idea. “Apple has requested Samsung Display and LG Display to develop OLED that removes all iPhone front bezels,” The Elec reported Monday.
The companies are already moving in that direction, according to leaked information. The iPhone 15 Pro series will have the thinnest screen bezels of any handset. Adopting the innovation isn’t without problems for LG, though.
Still, the change will supposedly enable Apple to increase the display size of its upcoming high-end models by a tenth of an inch without affecting the chassis size. Completely removing the bezel would allow for a further screen size increases while keeping the entire handset as small as possible.
No ‘waterfall’ edge screens for Apple
The same reports says the iPhone-maker isn’t interested in a feature that has been used in Androids: screens that curve down around the edges of the device.
“When a curved display is applied to the side of a smartphone, it optically shows a ‘magnifying glass effect’, which Apple was found reluctant to do,” says The Elec report. “In addition to the optical distortion effect, designing the display to flow down the side of the product can be weak to external shock.”
