Apple leak reveals “all glass” new iPhone with AMOLED screen

PanARMENIAN.Net - In a new report by KGI’s Ming-Chi Kuo, the reliable Apple analyst claims that the iPhone will be seeing a major redesign in 2017, dropping the iconic aluminum casing for an all-glass enclosure with AMOLED screen, 9to5Mac says.

This follows on from another of Kuo’s reports in late March, where he first suggested Apple will return to an iPhone design akin to the iPhone 4.

Kuo believes that Apple will be moving to an all-glass enclosure, dropping aluminum completely as it will no longer appear modern or fresh in 2017. Apple’s smartphone competitors are also adopting aluminum designs in droves, making it more likely Apple will want to differentiate with entirely new materials, the Apple news website says.

Kuo does not elaborate on how Apple will make the next iPhone entirely out of glass. Apple used glass for the iPhone 4/4s front and back, but this was sandwiched together with a stainless steel band.

The new glass phone will also feature a new AMOLED display panel, which will be thinner and lighter to compensate for the slight weight increase of glass compared with metal exteriors. Kuo does not believe that drop test issues will be a roadblock in Apple’s decision making, given the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4s already relied heavily on glass front and back.

Last week, Apple reportedly reached a $2.6 billion agreement with Samsung to supply OLED panels for iPhone displays, 9to5Mac says.