On Tuesday, Apple was granted a new patent that could finally allow for the edge-to-edge display- a design believed by many to be featured in an upcoming iPhone this year.
Granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the patent detailing technology will enable the phone’s speakers and cameras to be hidden behind the edge-to-edge display.
For the past years, many consumers have been wanting a device that is made up entirely of a screen in front, and the new Apple patent could grant such request. Filed in 2015, the parent is ideal for “electronic devices having displays with openings.” Such devices should have openings that can enable multiple electronic components, including such as cameras, light sensors or speakers, to be set behind the display.
Meanwhile, these display’s openings will allow the transfer of information across the sensors. According to Apple Insider, even tiny openings that are not visible to the human eye are possible, enabling the components to be tucked away behind the display and the device will seem to be single solid piece of screen.
The patent even gives rise to the speculation that the next-generation iPhone, which could either be a premium iPhone 8 or an iPhone 10, will come with a glass-sandwich design, thereby having a glass at its front and back and doing away with aluminum.
"For example, the rear of device 10 [shown in the top image] may be formed from a planar housing structure such as a planar glass member,” the patent states.
However, it is not guaranteed that the use of the new Apple patent will result in the expected final product with an edge-to-display. More so, it remains unclear whether the tech giant plans to carry out the advanced display technology into an upcoming phone.
Still, the company is believed to be launching the iPhone’s special edition version that comes with the full-face display sometime this year. The new Apple patent’s announcement has also contributed details as to how such form of a display can work for the iPhone.
