Apple Is Still Obsessed With the Idea of an All-Glass iPhone

[MacRumors]

If you think the rumored glassy redesign of iOS 19 could be a game-changer, check out Apple's latest granted U.S. patent detailing all-glass enclosures for future devices including the iPhone, Apple Watch, and even Mac Pro.

The patent envisions devices where all external surfaces (front, back, and sides) are made of glass, creating a seamless, transparent appearance with a roving interface that can be used from any angle.

Beyond aesthetics, the glass enclosures would introduce new interactive capabilities, according to the patent. Apple describes touch- and force-sensitive areas extending to the sides and back of devices, essentially creating multi-sided interfaces that could adapt based on how the user holds or orients the device. The embodiments also include mechanisms to take apart the devices for repairs.

For iPhones, the patent illustrates a six-sided glass design where displays could appear on any surface, with accommodations for components such as speakers and microphones. The user interface would dynamically shift depending on the device's orientation, allowing for contextual interactions regardless of which side faces the user.

The filing also includes concepts for other Apple products, including a glass Mac Pro tower with an octagonal prism shape, and an Apple Watch constructed almost entirely from transparent glass (a concept that we resurfaced last week).

Some designs feature deformable sides, enabling users to trigger actions by applying pressure, such as squeezing the sides of an iPhone to control media playback or adjust volume. Certain ideas also have echoes of Apple's previous experimentation with force-sensitive inputs like 3D Touch.

Apple's exploration of glass enclosures isn't exactly new. The company has been investigating this technology for over a decade – and former design chief Jony Ive famously wanted to create an iPhone out of a single seamless slab of glass.

Of course, patents don't guarantee we will actually see the products as consumer devices, but they do offer an insight into Apple's potential long-term vision for more immersive, interactive device designs across its product lines.

(Via Patently Apple.)

Article Link: Apple Is Still Obsessed With the Idea of an All-Glass iPhone

 

[MayaUser]

I think everyone is...i doubt Samsung isnt

 

[mozumder]

Might as well sell it pre-broken

 

[10anta]

A sizeable chunk of this feels like defensive patents to me, designed to protect Apple from a competitor coming out with a revolutionary product that makes their existing products look dated.

The all glass, multi-sided phone concept in particular feels like a solution in search of a problem - with the increased issue of greater fragility all for the benefit of users who apparently can't hold their device the right way round so they can see the screen.

 

[sunapple]

I’ve never paid for Apple Care before but I’m suspecting this repair is more expensive than a regular iPhone.

Purely conceptual though I love the idea of a seamless design like I loved the unified look of my iPhone 7 Jet Black for example. But I don’t love the over complicated tech that’s needed here.

 

[SilmarilFinder]

of course they would, imagine all the sweet revenue coming from the screen replacements.

designed to protect Apple from a competitor coming out with a revolutionary product that makes their existing products look dated.

but in reality, I think the main driver is this.

 

[cicalinarrot]

They've learnt nothing from Google trying to make all-phone glasses.

 

[klasma]

New iPhone mini confirmed!

Or these are really huge hands.

 

[Dr McKay]

Absolutely gorgeous, can’t wait to slap it in a big chunky case

 

[goobot]

With how the cameras currently are this isn’t happening anytime soon

 

[dunkin06]

Why not? May as well. They're all out of ideas now.

 

[Mr_Ed]

None of this appeals to me in the least. No tactile feedback to know if your fingers are even in the right place to do simple things like change the volume (and does that location change if you rotate the phone?)

No notion of which orientation the phone should be in for best audio during an actual phone call, which you can work around for listening if you make the entire body the “speaker” but then you have 0 expectation of privacy or not bothering others, not to mention managing optimal microphone placement.

UI that migrates/rotates over the phone as you turn it. Why? Combine that with showing current information (like weather, stocks, etc. as shown) on the edge of the device. Just, why?

Probably really this:

A sizeable chunk of this feels like defensive patents to me, designed to protect Apple from a competitor coming out with a revolutionary product that makes their existing products look dated.

 

[mazz0]

feels like a solution in search of a problem

The problem is obvious: "how can we make phones that look like the ones from Black Mirror?"

 

[0049190]

I would be happy with an glass front without the notch or dynamic island.

 

[mazz0]

No notion of which orientation the phone should be in for best audio during an actual phone call, which you can work around for listening if you make the entire body the “speaker” but then you have 0 expectation of privacy or not bothering others, not to mention managing optimal microphone placement.

That won't affect people that much these days, when nobody knows how to use a phone anyway. Everyone I see using phones as phones uses them in one of two ways: either on speaker, held out in front of them like some AH from The Apprentice, or worse, *not* on speaker, but trying to achieve the same thing, constantly moving the phone between their mouth and their ear.

I don't think there's any other explanation: people are stupid now.

 

[RightMACatU]

Titanic Captain was obsessed to get to NY early, come hell or high icebergs...

 

[TechRunner]

"Apple describes touch- and force-sensitive areas extending to the sides and back of devices, essentially creating multi-sided interfaces that could adapt based on how the user holds or orients the device." This is an interesting concept, but doing it in all-glass is a non-starter for me. And I'm someone who very, very rarely drops their phone.

 

[jennyp]

"roving interface" sounds almost substance-induced

It should be an orb, perhaps a crystal sphere. You gaze into its pellucid depths, then Siri says she doesn't know what you mean

 

[thebeachbum]

Apple still thinks a new phone color is a feature that deserves a product announcement. Not a total glass fan.

 

[Never Again]

I don't understand how you can enclose something in a seamless piece of glass. Can you fuse glass together? surely, there'd be seams? I thought glass vessels were blown, not cast.

 

[appleinsiderbro]

super cool! can't wait to see an all glass device from apple!

 

[WarmWinterHat]

Glass sucks. Just like the all-glass Apple watch, maybe it's an okay idea for people who sit around all day. Active people, and people who actually use their phone in non-perfect environments, will be running the other direction.

..and how is this going to do with a case? I won't currently carry my phone across the living-room without one.

 

[LoveToMacRumors]

Coming in 2100

 

[Shix]

bro that means anyone can see what im seeing. no privacy.

 

[.wojtek]

And I'm obsessed with sane device that actually doesn't have any crappy glass on it... can we go back to awesome devices from the past with high quality policarbons? They were way nicer/pleasant to hold, had less issues with breakage and were lighter… have you ever had Lumia phone? those were brilliant!

Also, most of the time they were easier change the battery which, in grand scheme of things, is more essential than high IP rating as less people take a dive with their phone than need to change the darn battery because it's on it's last legs…