While consumers are having a not-so-easy time procuring the latest iPhone 6, rumors pertaining to its successor, iPhone 7, are already creating quite a stir.
According to supply chain sources of Taiwan-based publication Economic Daily News, Apple is looking to employ a glasses-free 3D screen for the next iteration of the iPhone. Moreover, the company synonymous with iconic devices will also work toward building an ecosystem for the 3D hardware and software.
"Apple is working to create the naked eye 3D screen, becoming the biggest selling point of the next generation iPhone, and actively build 3D hardware and software ecosystem (translated)," reports Economic Daily News.
The site also reveals that Apple's current embedded touch technology cannot be utilized to build the 3D screen so the company will use the services of touchscreen manufacturer TPK to aid in the creation of the iPhone 7.
If Apple indeed goes the 3D route for its iPhone 7, then the smartphone would be replicating the efforts of Amazon's first-ever smartphone: the Fire Phone. However, the Fire Phone suffered dismal sales despite the 3D dynamic perspective user interface draw.
Whether Apple can be a game changer in the consumer space and create a new trend by imbibing 3D technology is anybody's guess. Nevertheless, the company has all the right patents and technology support to make the 3D display on the iPhone 7 a reality.
In 2008, Apple applied for a patent for a "Three-Dimensional Display System" that would negate the need for 3D glasses. In April this year, an Apple patent pertaining to an "Interactive Three-Dimensional Display System" was published by the USPTO, which may allow users to "interact with three-dimensional projected images that have been formed in mid-air."
Apple also acquired Israel-based PrimeSense, a 3D-sensing firm, in November 2013.
The iPhone maker has already experimented with 3D technology, albeit in a small way, as it introduced the Parallax Effect feature, which created the illusion of the device's screen as 3D in iOS 7.
