First, the good news: Apple has taken out a patent on a flexible display that will hold components together via a transparent housing. This could mean a possible full design revision for the forthcoming (and still rumored) iPhone 6.
We've already heard about rumors that the mythical iPhone 6 will integrate some design features developed by none other than fallen visionary Steve Jobs himself. With these key elements in mind, we may already have some idea of what the iPhone 6 will look like before it's even officially announced.
"If the patent is adopted in Apple's next product then it could be the biggest design overhaul since it was first launched in 2007," Express says.
The "bold redesign" for the iPhone 6 could possibly employ this curved high-definition display, with the iPhone's "iconic" home button being excised from the whole design.
What we're talking about here is that the patent may lead to a redesign of the iPhone 6 as "[a] consumer electronic product includes at least a transparent housing and a flexible display assembly enclosed within the transparent housing. In the described embodiment, the flexible display assembly is configured to present visual content at any portion of the transparent housing."
Myvouchercodes and designer Nickolay Lamm has created a mock-up of what the iPhone 6 could look like with such a patent integrated into its design.
With this design in mind for the iPhone 6, we find a "sleek looking phone which uses a wraparound AMOLED display," in Express' estimation.
Adding to the speculation that Apple may integrate this flexible display into the design for the iPhone 6 is the fact that the company posted a job listing shortly after the patent came to light, seeking an engineer to work on LCD and AMOLED flexible displays. The posting was two weeks later taken down.
"Such a design may appear on the iPhone 6 or 7, or maybe never," Lamm told PC Advisor. "It's a cool design, but one which is unlikely to give Apple a sustainable competitive advantage."
Now the bad news: What is being determined by a Jeffries analyst as "preproduction issues" may end up delaying the iPhone 6 — along with a "majority of Apple's mobile devices" in the near future. And, yes, this does include the equally rumored-yet-constantly-talked-about iPhone 5S.
As relayed by StreetInsider, Jeffries analyst Peter Misek — after taking a tour of Apple's Asian suppliers — suggested the iPhone 5S will likely be delayed. The iPhone 6 and possible "low-cost iPhone" (that may also be either of these two aforementioned phones) will also be delayed, in Misek's estimation.
It has before now been rumored that the iPhone 5S would be coming out in July. It looks like, thanks to Misek's proclamation, we may have to wait even longer than summer for a new iPhone iteration.
Misek believes the pre-production "issues" will push the low-cost iPhone back to Q4 and the iPhone 6 to 2014.
"iPhone 5S is having pre-production issues with mass production at least a month or more away. This combined with the publicly discussed delay of iOS 7 puts a July availability at risk," Misek said. "We continue to believe there is almost no chance the iPhone 6 launches in CY13 [calendar year 2013] due to supply chain issues."
If that's not enough to rot out Apple's core, Misek also said the same delays would have an affect over the iPad Mini refresh. He also saw no evidence of the alleged iWatch in the works. The iPad 5 refresh is possible, Misek feels, but the volume on the product shipments would be low.
Sorry, folks, Misek believes we won't be seeing an iTV in 2013, either.
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