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Apple Planning iPhones With Touchless Gesture Controls and Curved Screens to Launch Within Three Years

Wednesday April 4, 2018 4:54 am PDT by Mitchel Broussard
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has a new report out this morning, claiming that Apple is working on future iPhone models that will incorporate "touchless gesture control" as well as curved screens. The company is said to be looking at how it can differentiate its flagship product in a smartphone market that's becoming increasingly saturated with devices.

According to people with knowledge of Apple's plans, the touchless control feature is described as a hover-like gesture system that would let future iPhone owners navigate iOS "by moving their finger close to the screen without actually tapping it." This technology would be advanced enough to take into account the proximity of a finger to the screen and is predicted to still be around two years away, if Apple chooses to move forward with it.


Gurman also compared Apple's gesture design to Samsung's Air Gestures in Android smartphones and Google's Project Soli. In comparison, Apple's future iPhone "would require gestures to be closer to the screen than with Project Soli," and be based on technology built in the display rather than some kind of motion sensor added to the iPhone's bezel, as it is with Air Gestures.

Secondly, Apple is in the works on an iPhone display that curves inward "gradually from top to bottom," unlike Samsung's smartphones that curve down and away at the edges of the screen. Gurman's sources said that this major iPhone upgrade is around two to three years away. The company has been connected to curved display rumors in the past, and in October 2017 was said to be working with LG Display on an iPhone with a foldable display.

The new report also quickly corroborates many of the current rumors for the 2018 iPhone lineup:
While the Apple projects aren’t imminent, the company has near-term plans to expand OLED technology to more devices, according to other people familiar with the matter. It will release a second iPhone with that type of screen later this year; a larger model with a 6.5-inch screen, up from the 5.8-inch size in the current iPhone X. The company is also working on an update to the iPhone X’s size and a new, lower-cost LCD model.
Earlier in February, another one of Gurman's reports focused on the launch of iOS 12 later this year, which is believed to feature Animoji in FaceTime, deeper Siri integration, and an overall focus on quality rather than the introduction of many new features.

Tags: bloomberg.com, Mark Gurman
[ 237 comments ]


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I7guy
16 months ago

Because Tim Cook is an incompetent idiot, that's why.

For an “incompetent idiot” the company is doing rather well and hasn’t imploded as many in here predicted. In fact, quite the opposite.
Rating: 49 Votes
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DDustiNN
16 months ago

Apple is in the works on an iPhone display that curves inward "gradually from top to bottom,"

But... why...?
Rating: 42 Votes
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Elijen
16 months ago

But... why...?

Because Tim Cook is an incompetent idiot, that's why.
Rating: 23 Votes
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H3LL5P4WN
16 months ago
NO.

CURVED.

GLASS.

It's hard enough to get a good screen protector with these stupid "2.5D" edges now.
Rating: 18 Votes
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AngerDanger
16 months ago
Toucheless gestures? But that makes about as much sense as 2001 Apple producing their own MP3 player; if it didn't work for others, how could Apple pull it off?! Next thing you know, they'll make a failing tablet!
Rating: 17 Votes
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CerebralX
16 months ago
Please don't do the same as Samsung in regards to the folded screen. Watching anything on that screen with a little bit of glare is impossible.
Rating: 16 Votes
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dmylrea
16 months ago

For an “incompetent idiot” the company is doing rather well and hasn’t imploded as many in here predicted. In fact, quite the opposite.


That's because today's Apple is a company devoted to their shareholders, not their customers. If you own their stock, you love them. If you want a choice of form-factor computers with current technology at an affordable price, you hate them.
Rating: 16 Votes
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Loge
16 months ago
Change for change's sake.
Rating: 15 Votes
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I7guy
16 months ago

Sorry, I’m sure I won’t be the only one to mention this, but Samsung has already done this.

It may just be the wording in the article, but this honestly seems like a late April Fools post.

Samsung also had a finger print reader before Apple and look how that turned out. Not to mention the differences between Apple Face ID and the competitors.
Rating: 10 Votes
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Lamborrari
16 months ago
Wasn’t there a report a couple weeks ago by a Bank of America analyst that Apple would have a folding display iPhone in 2020? Two years away?

These financial analysts really have absolutely no idea what to predict in Apple’s future. Even a broken clock is right twice a day. If it ain’t a Ming-Chi Kuo or maybe a MacOtakara rumor, it ain’t a rumor. It’s pure speculation.
Rating: 10 Votes

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