Apple reportedly waited for Samsung for ultimate frameless iPhone screen

Apple is waiting for Samsung to perfect a next-generation OLED display technology that wraps almost vertically around a phone and essentially integrates the sides themselves into the screen, a Chinese leaker claims.

According to Weibo-based leaker Instant Digital, the technology is described internally by Samsung as a “full-screen full-screen display.” In design – unlike a so-called “waterfall” curved screen – the main screen remains completely flat, while the OLED panel bends sharply downward at a near 90-degree angle on all four edges and corners.

The idea is that these folded display sections would effectively become the sides of the device and replace the typical metal or plastic frame. Meanwhile, screen wiring and other components usually hidden behind bezels could also be moved to the edges.

The result – in theory – would be an iPhone that would appear almost entirely bezel-less when viewed from the front, with the physical black border around the screen reduced to virtually nothing. The technology could also make it easier to create an iPhone model without conventional mechanical buttons.

According to the leaker, Apple is waiting for Samsung to finalize the technology, but there are still challenges ahead. These would include optical distortion and color changes at corners, maintaining the OLED’s protective encapsulation despite extreme curvatures, and finding suitable locations for antennas when all sides are covered by the screen.

Design shared by Instant Digital

The technology is quite different from the less extreme “four-sided quad-curved screen” rumored for Apple’s 20th anniversary iPhone due in 2027. Indeed, the leaker suggests that the commemorative iPhone 20 model could be an interim step towards this more ambitious design. We’ll see.