Forget foldable phones – an all-glass iPhone could be the future

The Cupertino behemoth is looking into different ways to innovate the iPhone. Not that Apple isn’t exploring the trending foldable phone route, as evidenced by the “Foldable Cover and Display for an Electronic Device” patent it filed way back in 2017. But, clearly, it’s looking at other avenues as well.

AppleInsider reports that a new Apple patent shows an all-glass iPhone that will boast display and touch sensitivity on all its surfaces – front, back and all four sides. US Patent 20200057525, called “Electronic Device with Glass Enclosure” shows what this device could look like and how it will potentially work.

With Apple recently struggling to innovate the phone that started it all, could this new design finally be what the iPhone needs to crush its rivals? This design might seem incredible, but we’re not quite sure if it’ll work in the real world, and at a price point that will prove competitive in the mainstream market.

 Six-sided touch-sensitive display 

According to the patent, this device will move away from the conventional front touchscreen smartphone design. Instead, it will come “with enclosures that use glass to define multiple sides of the enclosure. In such cases, the enclosure may appear visually and tactically seamless, such that the entire enclosure may appear to be formed from a single piece of glass (even though it may be formed from multiple separate pieces attached together)."