All-glass iPhone, Apple Watch, Mac Pro tower – patent granted

Jony Ive has long talked about the idea of ​​an all-glass iPhone dubbed “a single pane of glass” — and the company has now secured a patent for a possible design, along with a glass Apple Watch and Mac Pro tower.

The image of the all-glass iPhone is the most detailed, with displays on both sides, as well as functional touchscreen buttons on the edges…

Patents are generally written in the most generic terms, meaning: Apple’s summary (spotted by Patently Apple) sounds a bit like it claims to have invented the concept of a glass box.

An electronic device includes a six-sided glass envelope defining an interior volume and comprising a first glass element and a second glass element. The first glass element defines at least a portion of a first major side of the six-sided glass envelope, at least a portion of a periphery side of the six-sided glass envelope, a first circumferential side region and having a first thickness and a second circumferential side region and having a second thickness different from the first thickness. The second glass member is attached to the first glass member and defines at least a portion of a second major side of the six-sided glass envelope. The electronic device further includes a touch screen within the inner volume and positioned adjacent at least a portion of each of the six sides of the six-sided glass envelope.

Likewise, the potential uses are broadly described, including both laptops and tablets.

Modern consumer electronic devices come in many shapes and forms and have numerous uses and functions. For example, smartphones, notebooks, and tablet computers provide different ways for users to communicate with other people, as well as access information, work, play games, and so on. Such devices use housings to house delicate electrical components, to allow a user to easily handle and use the device, and to achieve a desired shape, form factor, and general appearance of the device. provide. Enclosures for electronic devices can be formed in different ways and with different materials. For example, housings can be made of plastic or metal […]

An electronic device includes an enclosure that includes a monolithic glass element defining at least a portion of each of a first wall defining a first major surface of the enclosure, a second wall defining a second major surface of the enclosure, and four peripheral walls defining four peripheral surfaces of the housing. The electronic device may also include a display within the housing and adjacent to at least a portion of the first wall and at least a portion of a first peripheral wall of the four peripheral walls, and a touch sensing system within the housing and configured to detect touch . inputs applied to the housing.

The idea of ​​multiple and extendable screens is of course not new. There are foldable phones, dual screen phones, and phones that extend touchscreen functionality to the edges.

But Apple’s patent takes this to a whole new level, considering the possibility that the device could compromise display on all sides – something that would require rather sophisticated palm rejection to prevent accidental touches!

Apple’s illustrations of Apple Watch and Mac Pro tower don’t have the same level of detail.

We often recall that Apple patents many things that never make it to the market, and this one seems to be conceptual in nature rather than a steerage towards actual products. A true all-glass iPhone seems like a chore, but it’s certainly interesting to see how the company explores these kinds of ideas.