Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has been producing monolithic iPhone slabs for 8 years. The company’s smartphones are some of the best out there, but they haven’t really changed their shape since release. New rumors suggest that Apple is going to change the iPhone next time around. According to reports the iPhone 6 will have a curved screen.
Curved screens aren’t exactly new, but they have never been done on a big commercial level. Both Samsung and LG released curved smart phones in recent weeks, but both devices are highly priced and only available in limited quantities. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) isn’t always the first to use a technology, but when it does, the company usually gets it right. The same trend might hold true if the iPhone 6 has a curved screen.
iPhone 6 curved screen uses
To most people, the idea of an iPhone 6 with a curved screen is counter-intuitive. Every major smartphone has had a flat screen, and few have complained about the shape. There are a couple of applications that a curved screen may be uniquely good at, however, and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) could include the tech in the iPhone 6 as a result.
There are a couple of different kinds of curved screen that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) could use in the iPhone 6. The first is along the lines of the LG flex, a smartphone that can bend. This makes the phone more malleable, but doesn’t add a whole lot in terms of features. The phone can conform to slightly different shapes, but really isn’t all that impressive, and doesn’t seem like the kind of thing users will care that much about.
The second type of curved screen is more exciting, and more usable. It would allow the iPhone 6 screen to bend around the sides of the phone. This means that the day of the bezel may be over for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) users. The curved parts of the screen could be used to display information and notifications without interrupting a user’s workflow.
Apple curved screen for investors
For Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) investors the iPhone 6 curved screen is just the latest in a series of crazy rumors about the next iPhone. There is something to the rumors that investors may be ignoring, and a curved screen could add something really new to the iPhone 6.
If Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) creates a curved screen as anything but a gimmick, it could be the next killer smartphone feature. An iPhone 6 with a curved screen would be instantly recognizable. If Apple builds iOS8 around the screen it could drive the value of the iPhone 6 up massively and cause sales to pick strongly up for the first time in a while.
The problem is that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has a history of creating a great feature product that doesn’t spark a massive increase in demand. Siri and the iPhone 5S fingerprint sensor are examples of this. Both are incrementally good, neither is a major catalyst. The iPhone 6 needs a big boost, and a curved screen may bring that.
