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Apple's Next iPhone Could Have a Curved Screen, Says WSJ (theverge.com)
Apple's 2017 iPhone lineup might include a model with a curved screen similar to Samsung's Edge devices, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke with the Wall Street Journal (paywalled). Apple's suppliers told the paper that they were asked to "increase output of thinner organic light emitting displays and submit prototype screens with better resolution than ones from Samsung." From a report on The Verge (since WSJ is paywalled): But with that in mind, the company is also reportedly considering more than 10 prototypes, so a curved display might not make it to market. We've heard this rumor before when it was coupled with the idea that at least one of Apple's new phones would include an OLED display.
Why would I want my phone screen to be curved?
I keep seeing companies trying to make curved screens and I really don't get why. I don't see any obvious tangible way this would improve the utility of my phone. It was a useless "feature" in HDTVs and I see no reason why it would be any more useful in my phone. Does anyone have any idea why I should want a curved screen? What tangible and meaningful benefits would one provide? It seems like needless complication with no compensating benefit.
Apple has the interesting problem of not only having to design products, but often build them in quantities that stretch the limits of production for new parts / technologies. It's one thing to be able to build a few hundred thousands or a million or two; tens of millions is another matter. There have been several speculations that Apple hasn't built phones with OLED screens because nobody can make enough of them...
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A curved screen! Just what I had been waiting for. I have been itching to have a phone with a curved screen forever. I can't wait to give Apple my money for their phones with the curved screen. Never mind other features - curved screens are the killer features. And, if a little bit of curvature is good, more of it is better: Apple, please make sure that some models, at least, have a 180 degree curvature screens.
I'd prefer an unlocked bootloader. This Thanksgiving, I went down to some family members homes who live in the US for the holidays. Most of them used iPhones, I have a BLU device(s), there was one Samsung user. The Android users were maligned by the iOS users as using "Sheldon Cooper Phones". There seems to be a prejudice by some people using Android Devices that if its not an iDevice, it must be garbage.
From my experience if it does use iOS, its garbage, as I can't get it to integreate with the rest of my network infrastructure the way I can with Android Devices. A way to fix this would be Android Phones that cosmetically look like iPhones. Or having the option to put Android on an iPhone.
Or a thinner device?
Answer: because the other guy did it and you have nothing about your device which is better, so you must create a device which is "just as good" in order to compete. So you copy. Oldest trick in the book.
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
Any ideas on when the iPhone 8 will be released? My iPhone 7 is getting pretty dated. It will go in the garbage as soon as the 8 is out!
Isn't it bad enough that one of the most common repairs on a $700 phone is a glass replacement? I know most techies won't even try, but the process of delaminating and scraping glass off or of unsealing the chassis to do a Display Assembly swap is obnoxious enough even for people who know what they're doing. I've done it a few times but I wouldn't even touch a Galaxy Edge device; I don't think I could ever get the fit close enough.
Apple is the exact poster child for repair-hostility, but not everyone lives near an Apple Store or has $300 for an authorized repair. I foresee a future where even more people live with cracked screens if only because third-party phone techs won't want to be bothered with the stupid things.
-- I wanna decide who lives and who dies - Crow T. Robot, MST3K
There have been several speculations that Apple hasn't built phones with OLED screens because nobody can make enough of them...
Which raises the question why Apple isn't investing like hell in building and possibly owning capacity that they can then monopolize? If I were Tim Cook I'd be funneling some of those billions in reserve cash towards owning and/or controlling production capacity in OLED manufacturing in some fashion. The only reason I can think of that this wouldn't make sense is just that the profit margins might be too thin if they can't corner the market.
This counts as "innovative" now? Steve Jobs is spinning in his grave. Between this, removing the headphone jack and replacing it with $149 wireless earbuds, and a host of other unnecessary mediocrity, Apple is doings its best to fuck up its cash cow.
How about adding a headphone jack to it?
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Yeah, it works great for the one person in the prime viewing position.
Only 7 years after Google's Nexus S came out with a curved OLED screen. Great work Apple.
My iPhone had a curved screen. It wasn't intentional, though.
Table-ized A.I.
Did everyone forget #bentgate? Apple already has phones with curved screens.
Because it's risky, takes years and takes expertise that Apple doesn't have.
Apple doesn't have to have the expertise. They just play the role of interested investor. They have enough money they can easily hire expertise should they need some. They don't even have to actually own them to cause their competition a lot of discomfort. Just invest in companies working on the tech and get some special deals in return.
There are only a few foundries that CAN produce what Apple wants.
Exactly. So why not buy them up or make a "strategic investment" if they don't want to actually own them outright? Get what they need made and ensure that companies that want to use OLED displays for phones have to kiss Apple's ring first. Not saying this would be good for us as end users (it wouldn't) but Apple would be foolish to not seriously consider something like this.
Convex. The main surface of the screen is still flat, but the edges wrap around, so instead of a bezel, you have additional touchscreen area. At least that's how it works on a Samsung Galaxy Edge. You get an extra row of icons down the side of the phone.
Maybe it works great in practice but that sounds like it would be super annoying as well as causing issues protecting the screen from damage. I can easily envision accidentally pushing "buttons" all the time. This happens enough and damage to the device might become intentional rather than accidental. Maybe it's great but this sounds like a "solution" in search of a problem.
If it's curved that's not an Apple, it's a Banana Phone!
My first program:
Hell Segmentation fault
Just re-order the sleeves and tip so that normal headphones work with them. Nothing says special like a standard physical connector with a non-standard pinout!
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
I'd prefer an unlocked bootloader.
Fair enough though I hope you realize that very few people care about this at all.
There seems to be a prejudice by some people using Android Devices that if its not an iDevice, it must be garbage.
There are really good Android devices but there are enough really bad ones to generate some snobbery by those who don't know any better. A huge number of Android phones are cheaply made Me Too devices that don't work very well, are poorly made, never get updated, and are comparatively a pain in the butt to use. Apple's iOS devices have their flaws to be sure but even the worst of them are still pretty solid devices. Far more variability in the Android world.
From my experience if it does use iOS, its garbage, as I can't get it to integreate with the rest of my network infrastructure the way I can with Android Devices.
How so? If you bought some Android specific hardware that might make sense but it's not hard to get iPhones to play nice with most setups unless you just can't be bothered. Perhaps you've tied yourself too tightly to Google's ecosystem?
A way to fix this would be Android Phones that cosmetically look like iPhones. Or having the option to put Android on an iPhone.
How would making a Android phone that looks like an iPhone fix any network integration issues? What would be the point of that? You're talking about aesthetics, not function.
I'm guessing that this is more of a problem for skinny folks who wear tight jeans. If they put a phablet in their front pockets the sides will jut out leaving gaps between the phone and thigh. A curved phone, one that's curved side to side as opposed to top to bottom, will lay close to there thighs taking up less space than the smallest, thinnest phone. But that's just my theory. I couldn't care less about curved phone or displays.
You could look like a real wizard. Nobody needs cables since you can charge it wirelessly. Use a new and exciting iWizard interface to connect new type of headphones that look like wizard hat.
That would be pretty cool. Make it the size of a marble and require bluetooth interfaces like headphones and a watch. The perfect iProduct.
If the curvature "surrounds" you, you're sitting way too close to the screen! The only advantage of curved TV screens is it makes the glare from a single light a narrow strip instead of a huge blob on the screen. But you pay for it by distorting the image whenever the viewer isn't directly in front of the screen, so on the whole definitely not worth the added cost.
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
Seriously, all of my cell phones since my Motorola flip phone have been iPhones.
But I liked the iPhone 5 SE, and this is clearly the wrong direction to take, Apple.
Curved is dumb.
Stop trying. Just give us what we want, not what some insane person thinks we want.
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
...I have a phone with a screen that curves around and encases my entire body, and I move the ball I'm in around by taking steps. For some reason, when I watch en episode of NCIS in it, it looks all weird and distorted, though.
</snort>
Wake me when they make one with a replaceable battery.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
Alternatively, you could turn the offending light off.
If it's that yellow one in the sky, I hear movable cloth screens are available to block the entry ports.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
Organic? Wahey, that utterly meaningless marketing buzzword from agriculture has made its way to phones. In a way I should be pleased, because the absurdity is even more apparent. What in fuck is an 'organic' display?
I do not want your cheap brainburning drugs. They are useless for work. And I am a working man today.
Too companies are leading the state of the art in OLED screen technology: LG and Samsung. Both Korean, and both way too big for even Apple to buy.
Samsung is (probably) too bug but LG had revenue of US$55B in 2015. Apple has nearly 5X that amount of money in cash and made $45B in PROFIT in 2015 alone. So no, LG is definitely not too big for Apple to buy if they wanted to and they certainly could offer to buy or finance the OLED technology portion rather than the whole company. Not saying that's a good idea but it's certainly something Apple could do if they felt the need.
Who do you think makes most of the parts for Apple in the first place? I'm pretty sure it's Samsung.
So why would Apple want to tie themselves to what is arguably their #1 handset and tablet competitor in Samsung if they didn't have to? I'm sure Apple has their reasons but their aren't immediately obvious to outsiders like myself. I'm sure Apple has considered all this but they aren't sharing their reasoning publicly.
A lot of companies are afraid of taking TOO big of a contract from Apple.
It's reasonable to be cautious of taking on more than you can handle from one customer. Companies that deal with Walmart run into the same problem. If they become too big a percentage of your business then you are taking on substantial risk of being unable to refuse to take a bad deal.
I worked for a company that made parts for Apple about 5 years ago. Apple kept telling us to knock down the price or they'd cancel the contract. Eventually we were selling to them at a loss.
Then your company was managed by idiots. If the choice is between canceling a contract and losing money on every sale then it is a no brainer. If they ask you to sell at a loss you say no. This is true even if the customer is very big. If Apple wants to work with you to reduce costs then it can be a discussion but you have to be a weapons grade idiot to sell something for less than it costs you to make on an ongoing basis.
Unfortunately we got sold to another company...who just signed a contract with Apple. But the parts we are making are not Apple exclusive, so we got that going for us, which is nice.
As long as they aren't afraid to say NO to Apple when they need to then working with Apple is fine. You can't magically make something cost less than it actually does. No amount of kicking and screaming on Apple's part will change this in the short term.
I use OwnCloud, eGroupware, F-Droid, OsMand, Kore/Kodi, XMPP and a bunch of other stuff. I don't want my Phone syncing with servers other than mine or reporting location or software information to anyone.
You didn't answer the question. If you don't want to be tracked I can respect that. Just put the phone down and I assure you that you can exist comfortably without it. The notion that you can own a phone connected to the INTERNET that does not reveal any information about you is frankly absurd. Especially when you didn't write or review most of the code on that device. Furthermore the device you indicated you use is KNOWN to have reported data and you have zero way to know if the hardware isn't still doing so.
My phones do what I say, and derive location info based on GPS and Passive Beaconing.
Ha! Did you write all the code for your phone? Is the firmware and hardware source code available to you? If not then your confidence that your phone is never doing something you don't want is laughably naive. Using open source software doesn't change that fact. A better approach is to basically assume your phone is always spying on you and to use it accordingly. If you are worried about what information it is revealing then put it down and walk away.
The iPhone 8 has no jacks at all, not even a charging port. You'll receive one wireless charging plate with your purchase, which plugs into a USB-C port. Specially positioned magnets magically center the phone onto the charging plate.
Belkin, Griffin, and countless other Chinese companies will unveil phone holders for cars that have built-in wireless charging. To make the phone even thinner, no screws will be used. It will all be glued together.
The next MacBook Pro will have a Charge Bar along with the new Touch Bar. You just place your phone on the laptop and it charges.
All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain... time... to... die...