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2017 iPhone May Feature Edge-to-Edge Display With Embedded Touch ID Sensor, Front-Facing Camera
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Well, you would put the earpiece speaker into the place where the status bar is. It will be up to the user whether to engage a full screen mode : in most cases little speaker rectangle would not matter.
Patent application: http://www.google.com/patents/US20140289668
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You are correct: this would be a challenge. This patent application addresses this challenge in a number of ways by establishing the "virtual bezel".
http://www.google.com/patents/US20140289668
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My Galaxy S7 Edge already practically has no side bezel and this is not an issue at all while watching videos: the screen is not covered much by fingers holding those edges.
Actually, there would be no cut out for the speaker, they would just transmit the sound through the glass. The bigger problem would be the camera and sensors.
The biggest question for me is exactly how they plan on embedding Touch ID. How would they prevent accidental screen activations? There are times now when I slip my phone into my pocket with the screen facing my leg, and the fabric is so thin, the electricity from my thigh activates things. Touching the screen would necessarily need to activate the screen to locate the Touch ID button, place a finger on it and unlock. Otherwise, there's a press of the power button which takes an extra step over what happens now. Indeed a virtual Touch ID would extend the process unless the whole bottom portion of the iPhone is now the Touch ID sensor. But still, not sure how the phone will lock out accidental screen activations, without making it less convenient than it is now.
I'm going to start using that from now on as a synonym for "I'm pulling this out of my ass, but..."
I agree. While I love the concept, the reality is that this concept is easily 2-3 large technological steps beyond where they are right now. They won't be changing that radically in the course of a year or year and a half.
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The capacitive region of the glass could stop where the old bezel was or they could track continuous contact as hand holding the device or any number of other reasonably obvious and achievable solutions. What you're describing are implementation details not insurmountable problems.
I agree. But if the home button is removed, how will they prevent the screen from activating accidentally when locked, and still be as efficient as the current home/Touch ID button?
Strictly speaking, I don't think the home button is absolutely necessary. I had/loved a Nokia Lumia 920 for years(until I broke it playing with my daughter), it didn't have a physical home button and I honestly can't say that it felt like it needed one.
I doubt Apple will be ditching this feature any time soon though, so yeah you raise an important UI consideration.
Visible screen that is not responsive like the rest is a really poor idea.
They might be able to solve it similar to the palm rejection, yes. Now... about that content on the very edge I can't see because it's partly hidden. Oh.. that's right. I need to open my hand and flat palm my phone to see it... Right back where we started.
Edge to edge is a piss poor design choice for a device meant to be used on the go.
First of all this is all completely hypothetical.
Secondly, there's nothing wrong with having a small portion of the visible screen be off limits to user interaction. It happens all the time in user interfaces(e.g. the status bar). Your strong personal feelings aside, there's nothing inherently wrong with having edge to edge display for a more or less aesthetic effect. Where you're right is in the assertion that it shouldn't be the source of unwanted or unintended user input. That is clearly poor user experience.
Secondly, there's nothing wrong with having a small portion of the visible screen be off limits to user interaction. It happens all the time in user interfaces(e.g. the status bar). Your strong personal feelings aside, there's nothing inherently wrong with having edge to edge display for a more or less aesthetic effect. Where you're right is in the assertion that it shouldn't be the source of unwanted or unintended user input. That is clearly poor user experience.
But a really tiny bezel would work and the 5.5 model wouldn't be so uncomfortable to hold and use one handed
dampfnudel said:
Not that the 6 would be minor, but that it would feature edge to edge screen with integrated home button. Seems to be a regurgitated rumor.
So you know this without knowing anything about cpu, ram, storage, megapixels, graphics engine, internal components, screen, waterproofing, high def audio etc. stock is going up btw.
Rumors of the Apple iPhone having a full-frontal screen have been around for years. As in, YEARS. Apple has never delivered. It will never happen for whatever reason Apple doesn't want it to happen.
Also, I'd like to point out that that Concept above is terrible. The phone speaker line running through the screen is going to get old fast, very fast. You will hate it. If you are going to do a concept like this, at least do it right. Remove the speaker from the screen and put it at the top edge of the phone at the very least. The Selfie Cam will obviously have to go, on-screen camera hasn't been invented yet. But on-screen fingerprint scanner is here so that may be done -- except it's Android that's doing it and not Apple thanks to LG.
Anyway... the iPhone has quickly become a joke, same design, nothing new happening really, just playing catch up with Android and re-releasing 2 year old designs just to use up old surplus parts. It's embarrassing really.
Have to praise Apple for the last big innovation -- fingerprint scanners. That was a great innovation and it caught on real quick, everyone is doing it now. But that was literally the last innovation Apple has made with Smartphones.
Will the iPhone 7 hopefully change that? Who knows. People seem to be more interested chasing Concepts from the next wannabe Jony Ives designer than actually looking for real iPhone 7 information.
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Projectors are not a game changer. Samsung has been making Projector phones since like 2011 or something. They didn't catch on. You know Samsung -- they throw everything to the wall and wait to see what sticks. Projector phones isn't one of those things that stuck.
Clear glass or thin flexi phones would probably be a game changer, clear glass is going to be a long way coming that sort of technology isn't going to exist for decades at least. Thin flexi phones though are already on the way there are prototypes for them, not paper thin but the design concept is there. Actual paper-thin phones? Those won't be made for another 50 years if ever. Technology is nowhere near close to making that kind of thing a reality.
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Or they could put the fingerprint scanner at the back of the phone. The home button is not necessary. I have used an iPad Mini 1G since it came out and never used the homebutton. Multi-touch gestures are all you need, and to power on the device just use the power button.
Sapphire is scratch resistant, but not shatter proof. The current glass is more shatter resistant.
Touch ID, 64 bit and 3dt were the last cell phone innovations. Everything else has been incremental improvements across the board .
It's been awhile since I was extremely excited for an iPhone but a design like this would have me throwing money at the screen. I was really looking forward to upgrading from my 6 but this years phone seems like it's going to be a major let down. Probably will just have to wait it out till 2017 unfortunately.