Apple has been granted a patent (number 10,735,569) for “electronic devices with convex displays.” It’s another patent that hints at an iPhone with a curved, wraparound display.
In the patent data, Apple says that users want their devices as thin as possible. The tech giant says a convex display rather than a flat one could increase the internal volume of an iPhone, while preserving a sleek look that’s aesthetically pleasing.
Integrated into the curved, and flexible, display would be buttons, microphones, speakers, piezoelectric actuators or (for receiving electrical input from a user or tactile feedback to users), other actuators such as vibrators, pressure sensors, and other components.
The nature of the flexible, curved display would allow a user to interact with the user interface components (input-output components) by moving the display into contact with the user interface components or by otherwise allowing the display to locally flex (e.g., to allow sound to pass through the flexible display or to allow a barometric pressure measurements of the exterior environment to be made by an internal pressure sensor).
Also, a portion of the flexible display could form a membrane portion of an electrical component. Components that may be provided with a membrane that is formed from a portion of an iPhone display that would include microphones, laser microphones, pressure sensors, speakers, etc.
Here’s the summary of the invention: “A convex display may be used to maximize the internal volume of a device. Convex displays may be formed from one or more flexible layers. A flexible display layer may be mounted to a rigid support structure or a rigid cover layer. Flexible display layers that conform to the curved shape of a rigid structure may provide additional internal volume in which internal components of the device may be positioned.”
