iPhone 5 To Get Curved Display Glass And LTE 4G In 2012?
Posted by CharlesMoore on Tuesday May 24, 2011 Under iPhone 5 Rumor
The curved glass display on the iPod Nano -- could the iPhone 5 get the same treatment?
Read Charles Moore’s new reflection on rumors that the iPhone 5 will feature a curved glass display and the coveted 4G in 2012.
I’m seriously dating myself by revealing that I remember well Volkswagen’s introduction of the new Super Beetle model in 1971 with a curved, mildly wraparound windshield. All VW Beetles previously had had completely flat windshield glass, so the curvature was considered highly revolutionary.
I took a new Super Beetle belonging to a friend for a test drive and recall noticing how much better it rode and handled with its completely different suspension system, and the gracefully curved windscreen did much to eliminate the impression of viewing the world through a letterbox slot. The Super Beetle is my favorite VW Beetle of all time (I’ll take a Cabriolet Champagne Edition by preference, thanks), the most recent example I’ve driven being a hotrod built by my daughter and her friend as a bare chassis up project, with a twin-Weber carburated Porsche engine and Porsche alloy wheels, as well as a rock hard suspension that makes it handle and corner like a go-kart — at least on smooth roads. It’s seriously demanding to drive, but one seriously hot Beetle.
Curved glass: cool on the old VW Beetle -- how about the iPhone 5?
However, Chen and Shen report that cover glass makers are reluctant to invest in the necessary glass cutting equipment due to high capital cost, so, Apple itself has reportedly purchased 200-300 glass cutting machines to be used by glass makers, or so the sources affirm, currently storing them at associated assembly plants to be brought into production service once yield rates for curved glass reaches a satisfactory level, and further that there’s still been no timetable set for iPhone 5 volume production, at least in part because Apple is currently still working out logistics issues with suppliers including ones involved in cover glass, glass cutting, lamination and touch sensors to improve yield rates.
So why would Apple want a curved iPhone display? Unlike the Super Beetle windscreen of yore, a curved iPhone screen would seem to not offer any obvious advantages, and actually seems sort of like a step backward, since the curved
Curved design concepts like this one from HTC can make for more ergonomic phone calls -- but is it a good idea for a touch screen?
screen glass of CRT computer monitors long since gave way to flat plane displays almost universally acclaimed to be an improvement. One rumor I heard suggested it might have something to do with 3D, working like some sort of lens.
And while we’re at it, DigiTimes’ Amanda Liang and Adam Hwang have posted a new report sayingthat China Mobile, China’s largest mobile telecom carrier, has reached an agreement with Apple for China Mobile to develop an iPhone model based on TD-LTE which to be offered in 2012, citing comments by China Mobile chairman Wang Jian-zhou at the company’s 2011 shareholders meeting on May 19, according to a report in the Chinese newspaper Southern Metropolis Daily.
In an earlier report, Digitimes’ Irene Chen and Steve Shen noted that Apple is unlikely to launch LTE-enabled iPhone 4S smartphones in 2011 as originally planned due to problems concerning yield rates of LTE chips offered by Qualcomm.
Many thanks to all of the folks yesterday who sent in links to stories about this rumored new feature for the iPhone 5! iPhone 5′ers are the best at keeping up on all things iPhone!
What do you think the purpose of a curved screen might be on the iPhone 5? Cool looks? Ergonomics? And how would it affect gesture control on the touch screen? Let us know what you think!
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May 24th, 2011 at 7:43 am
I’ve thought about it and my best guess is that the curved screen could be meant to help with “glare”. I can’t think of any other advantage to a curved screen. whats more upsetting is all the 2012 predictions for the i5
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May 24th, 2011 at 8:30 am
Ehh…I’d be happy with this:
[img]http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/610/iphone5h.jpg[/img]
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May 24th, 2011 at 8:31 am
http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/610/iphone5h.jpg
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May 24th, 2011 at 1:09 pm
Wouldn’t this be the iPhone 6, though?
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May 24th, 2011 at 1:13 pm
Never mind, I didn’t read the whole thing. I’d actually approve of Apple postponing the iPhone 5 for 2012 (an therefore not releasing and phones this year) if that means that it’ll be a completely new-generation device. Also, I have a faith policy under which I won’t question things like these (curved glass) until I test them. They may sound illogical or counterproductive, but If Apple does it, there’s a reason for it.
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May 24th, 2011 at 3:40 pm
Core2, I’ve known that rumor and mock-up since I first discovered the iPhone. Idk if it would be good cause it looks weird. But the concept does seem pretty cool. I would like the iPhone 4′s same dimensions but with a 4in screen!!!
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May 24th, 2011 at 5:05 pm
I DONT approve of the skip-iPhone year. I swear Apple better release and iphone 5 or 4s by octoboer!! Me and my friends are planning to go to the release and buy our first iphone if not….. im getting an atrix 4g. appple can eat s***t if they dont wanna upgrade and be cheap.
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May 24th, 2011 at 5:20 pm
I can see a iPhone 5 held off until next year, but at least a boosted iPhone 4s this year with the A5 chip that is in the iPad 2. Every June\July for the past 4 years a revised model is announced.
I would pay more for the phone to sign a 1 year contract if I could, but I don’t see that option as other VZW phones…..oh well…
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May 24th, 2011 at 6:48 pm
I agree, Core2. At the very least, the iPhone “4s” will be on the scene in 2011. There is simply no way that Apple will let more than 15 months pass since the release of the iPhone 4 without having something more than the Verizon iPhone 4 and white iPhone 4. In the meantime, 637 Android phones have been released. Apple has done really well with the iPhone 4, but it’s time to put the design out to pasture and move on.
I still think that branding the 2011 iPhone the “4s” will be a mistake from a marketing perspective.
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May 24th, 2011 at 8:51 pm
I really don’t see the problem with curved glass. To me it would look cool but i would have to test it first to see it’s functionality. I went to the mall today and stepped into RadioShack. There were so many new android phones and only one iPhone model! That’s when I noticed that Apple has done great because there’s so much hardware running Android and only 4 iPhones running iOS. Btw I saw the sidekick 4g and it looked pretty cool but it’s running froyo (androidOS 2.2) which is pretty lame for a new phone.
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May 26th, 2011 at 12:37 pm
i think curved glass looks nice
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May 30th, 2011 at 11:18 pm
I think I read somewhere that the curved screen would be concave, not convex.
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