iPhone 8 Rumors: Apple Granted Patents For Bezel-Less Display, Embedded Touch ID

Previous rumors have pointed to an iPhone 8 with a bezel-less screen and embedded Touch ID. Now, recently revealed patents are backing up claims that Apple is exploring the technology.

Apple was granted a patent for an edge-to-edge display and another patent for a Touch ID embedded in the display screen, Patently Apple reported Tuesday.

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The patent, “Reducing the border area of a device,” looks to make the screen display bigger on electronic devices.

“Although the border area in some touch-based devices may already be relatively small compared to the display/touch-active area, further reducing the border area would nevertheless help to maximize the space available for the display/touch-active area of the device without increasing the overall size of the device,” the patent said.

The patent went on to say that bending the edges on the devices would allow the edge-to-edge display to wrap around the device, which is how it’s done on the Samsung Galaxy S8.

The patent explained:

“This relates to methods and systems for reducing the border areas of an electronic device so as to maximize the display/interactive touch areas of the device. In particular, a flexible substrate can be used to fabricate the display panel and/or the touch sensor panel [referred to collectively herein as a "circuit panel"] of a mobile electronic device so that the edges of the display panel and/or the touch sensor panel can be bent. Bending the edges can reduce the width [or length] of the panel, which in turn can allow the overall device to be narrower without reducing the display/touch-active area of the device.”

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The second patent, “Electronic device including finger biometric sensor including transparent conductive blocking areas carried by a touch display and related methods,” lists the benefits of allowing a user to authenticate without taking a finger off the screen. The patent is not the first relating to an embedded Touch ID.

“Where a fingerprint sensor is integrated into an electronic device or host device, for example, as noted above, it may be desirable to more quickly perform authentication, particularly while performing another task or an application on the electronic device,” the patent said. “In other words, in some instances it may be undesirable to have a user perform an authentication in a separate authentication step, for example switching between tasks to perform the authentication.”

iPhone 8 Rumors, Release Date, Price

Both features have been rumored to be included in the upcoming iPhone 8. The device is also rumored to come with an OLED edge-to-edge display, vertical dual-camera system, a 3D-sensing front camera and wireless charging. Apple’s 10th anniversary smartphone is expected to be released this fall alongside the iPhone 7S and iPhone 7S Plus. A Goldman Sachs analyst recently predicted the iPhone 8 is will cost $1,000.