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20th Anniversary iPhone's 'Liquid Glass' Display to Make Bezels Vanish

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Apple's 20th-anniversary iPhone will use a new type of curved screen technology that more effectively hides the display bezels from the user's line of sight for a purer viewing experience, claims a Chinese leaker.

Mostly-Screen-iPhone-Purple-Feature-2027.jpg

Apple is reportedly planning a radical redesign for the 20th-anniversary iPhone that could feature a display that curves around all four edges of the device. To achieve this, Apple will reportedly use an equal-depth quad-curved panel supplied by Samsung, and it sounds like it's going to be quite different from typical curved screens.

According to leaker Ice Universe, "It is not a traditional quad curved display, nor is it anything like the curved screen solutions we have seen on Android phones over the years." This is said to be down to its extremely subtle curvature, but there are apparently other factors that could come into play.
"What truly creates the visual impact may be a sophisticated combination of optical refraction, light guiding structures, and carefully engineered visual illusion," said Ice Universe, writing in a post on X. "The end result could be a display where the bezel nearly disappears from sight, while edge viewing remains natural and undisturbed."
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Apple will also reportedly adopt a Samsung-made OLED technology called COE (Color Filter on Encapsulation) to make the 20th-anniversary iPhone's display brighter and thinner than previous panels. Apple may refer to it as a "Liquid Glass Display," in a nod to its latest software interface redesign, claims the leaker.


To mark the 20th-anniversary of the iPhone in 2027, Apple ideally wants an uninterrupted display with no cutouts for the most visual impact, but concealing the Face ID system and selfie camera under the panel is going to be a challenge.

Display analyst Ross Young has said that Apple won't have under-display ‌Face ID‌ ready to go for a 2027 iPhone, but other leakers think it's possible. If Apple can't get everything under the display, we may see under-display ‌Face ID‌ and then a small hole-punch cutout on the front for the front-facing camera.

Article Link: 20th Anniversary iPhone's 'Liquid Glass' Display to Make Bezels Vanish
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2026/04/28/20th-anniversary-iphone-liquid-glass-display/
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Smells like another death march like liquid ass is.

You're not going to be able to see that when it's in a case with a lip that stops it breaking if you fart near it. Also I quite like having a bit which isn't screen to hold.
 
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“The end result could be a display where the bezel nearly disappears from sight, while edge viewing remains natural and undisturbed."

This makes a little more sense. The frame isn’t going away. They are putting a refracting layer on top of the screen that overlaps the edge of the frame to make the bezels “disappear”. That implies the edge is not usable screen space, and that also makes sense because you wouldn’t want your fingers covering up actual screen space while you hold your phone.

I still think this is stupid, but whatever.
 
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Neat but why? How does this improved the user experience? What problem does it solve? Design is supposed to be “how it works” right? I mean I’m sure it will be super cool looking but, is that it? I’m also guessing screen replacement would be… tricky 😁
 
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Yeah. Because none of us use cases that wrap around a bit to fix Apple’s 20 year old “delicate design flaw.”

And we’ve all removed picture frames in our homes because they’re too darn distracting.

And iPhones will float in the air so our fingers don’t block part of the screen edges when held.

Misplaced priorities…
 
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Mr_Ed said:
“The end result could be a display where the bezel nearly disappears from sight, while edge viewing remains natural and undisturbed."

This makes a little more sense. The frame isn’t going away. They are putting a refracting layer on top of the screen that overlaps the edge of the frame to make the bezels “disappear”. That implies the edge is not usable screen space, and that also makes sense because you wouldn’t want your fingers covering up actual screen space while you hold your phone.

I still think this is stupid, but whatever.
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Exactly. It’s stupid, but it makes it harder for competitors to copy.
I don’t know why they need to do this. iOS and the hardware already work great. We don’t need a Liquid Display… maybe until we actually see it.
 
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Sounds like a cool, but unnecessary feature. People would much rather get rid of, or minimise the screen cutout for the camera/FaceID as this is far more noticable as breaking the all-screen design philosophy than a thin bezel.

I'll be interested to see how cases and screen protectors are design to fit.
 
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Are you tired of bezels ? Does looking at your iPhone makes your eyes hurt ? Are you always asking yourself "Where is the screen ??" ?

Hi Billy Mays here for the world's most amazing iPhone EVER : iPhone 20th anniversary!

Why am I looking at it without my glasses ? To show you it's all display baby ! Just display, display everywhere. You like displays ? Don't look at the other crappy phones shown here in black and white on your tv used by sad people alone in a rainy day, just look at iPhone 20th anniversary here in colour used by happy people with a family and a dog in a shinny summer day.

This AMAZING iPhone uses a new type of curved screen technology that more effectively hides the display bezels from your line of sight for a purer viewing experience. You heard it people: it's made for YOU, to give YOU the purest viewing experience in the world ! You will feel happier, smarter, more beautiful and richer thanks to its super fancy colour filter on encapsulation technology. It doesn't just filter the colours like all the other brands, it encapsulates it too ! Do you know how much cost a colour encapsulator ? SUPER EXPENSIVE ! And here Apple is giving it to you for FREE ! Yes, you heard it : FREE ! It will be included for free in all iPhone 20th anniversary !!! AMAZING !!

Look, I'm going to put my eyes 0.0001 inch from the screen..... you see ? .... you see ? Let me tell you what you see : NOTHING ! Yes, exactly, you see nothing because it's the best display in the world ever. Usually with any phone from an other brand my eyes would be burnt. But here... see... nothing, my eyes are fresh and I can use them again it saves you doctors fees... this phone saves you money !

And look at the curves.... look at that... I'm holding it with just 1 hand.... this is not a traditional quad curved display, nor is it anything like the sad curved screen solutions we have seen on Android phones over the years. This is the future ! It's made for human hands, look how easy it is to hold it, it just float on top of my hand like a cloud.... it's an illusion... it's real... it's a real illusion. AMAZING ! 

Call now 1-800-MYAPPLE and you'll get the best protection in the world, Apple Care, for almost FREE ! And if you call now, we don't have all day, this offer is running now, normally it will be limited to 1 iPhone 20th anniversary per person at launch but if you call now and say our magic secret word "IMASCALPPERIHAVEMONEYTOSPEND" you'll be able to get not just 1, not 2, not 3 ... but up to 100 iPhone 20th anniversary for you !!!!  That's right, you'll get 100 iPhone 20th anniversary!! Just say the magic word and show your money and the future will be yours.

So don't wait ! Act now ! This iPhone is so difficult and expensive to produce that stocks are limited so don't wait ! ORDER NOW !


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If it’s anything like the Samsung Edge… oh god no!! Like others have said, what problem does it solve? Except your fingers are in the way when horizontally watching video. Seems like a gimmick but hey maybe they’ll make a special case to protect it and it’ll cost $299
 
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Arlena said:
View attachment 2625506
This but thinner.

It will look like a next-gen iPhone 4.
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Yeah this is what I'm expecting - not a curved display like Samsung have done before - no side glass with a screen, just that they are completely removing the bezel by curving the display down behind the metal sides.

People se 'curved' and think its going to have a big curve, glass sides - but I think this is more it, a very tiny curve, and it'll just be like the screen goes all the way to the edge.


So not 'all glass', more 'no bezel at all'
 
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This seems like one of those situations where the translation/rumour mill describes a new feature that leads people down the wrong path until it becomes more clear what was actually meant. In this case, no “side screen” (à la Samsung Edge) but rather a curved screen tech that simply allows for a bezel-less look when viewed from the standard position. Will be interesting to see how it shakes out.
 
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Shame about the cutout. I'm sure they'd planned this one with any cutout, but I get that the technical challenge is quite steep - even with unlimited resources.
 
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