The 5.8-inch Apple iPhone Pro could employ folded side screens to keep its size down

Yesterday, we told you about a report that Apple was working on an iPhone that would carry a 5.8-inch OLED screen. Possibly titled the Apple iPhone Pro, the handset would not hit the marketplace until 2017 at the earliest. For those wondering how Apple intends to offer such a large screen without the device becoming too unwieldy for smaller hands, there is talk that the phone would employ a screen that wraps around the sides of the unit.

One theory mentioned by DisplayMate's Ray Soneira, would be the use of "folded edge side screens" that would eliminate the side bezel on the handset. The side screens would also allow users of the phone to toggle on or off certain controls with virtual buttons. Last September, Apple was awarded a patent from the USPTO that it initially filed for back in 2013. The patent was for a curved screen that could make images appear as though they were coming from a continuous loop. As we said at the time,  Apple could use the patent to make an iPhone in the shape of a cylinder. An all-glass iPhone also could be in Apple's future, using 3D Touch instead of buttons.


Another possibility, as sketched by Apple in a patent filing from 2011, would be to use square sides that would offer virtual buttons, app icons and other controls. The phone would still include side bezels and would not be connected to the front display.


source: MacRumors