It’s a rumor, but it’s a nifty one.
The current word has it that Apple is working on future iPhone models with “touchless gesture control” as well as curved screens.
Per sources close to the story, 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.” The technology is thought to be roughly two years away.
Apple’s gesture design could be similar to Samsung’s Air Gestures found 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.
The rumored next-gen iPhone display would curve inward “gradually from top to bottom.” Samsung’s smartphones, on the other hand, currently curve down and away at the edges of the screen. Samsung has been connected to curved display rumors in years past, and as of October 2017, LG Display was rumored to be working with Apple on a foldable display.
Apple is thought to be working on a 6.5-inch iPhone, 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.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.