Apple’s OLED iPhone plans may include a 5.8-inch model next year

The evidence is strong that Apple is at least thinking about adding an OLED display to the iPhone, but now there's a suggestion that the company might also change the device's screen size. 9to5Mac reports that the latest investor note from well-known Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claims the company will release an iPhone in 2017 with a 5.8-inch OLED display and a "completely new form factor."

Kuo predicts smaller bezels and a curved display for the 2017 iphone

Kuo predicts that the handset will take after the design of the iPhone 4, with a glass front and back and metal sides. Narrower bezels and a curved display will allow the 5.8-inch screen to fit into a form factor smaller than that of the current 5.5-inch iPhone. Kuo also suggests that the device will come with wireless charging and new biometric security features. He's not predicting that these changes will arrive until 2017, though, with 9to5Mac noting that this suggests Apple's next handset will stick close to the iPhone's current design.

These predictions aren't too far out of the ordinary, and, in a way, follow Samsung's lead — the Galaxy S7 Edge eliminated its bezels and used a curved display to fit a 5.5-inch screen into a phone smaller than the iPhone 6S. Kuo's reputation and history also give his predictions weight. Although his timings are often off, he's more often right than wrong about Apple's plans. Last November, for example, he predicted that the company would launch a new 4-inch iPhone that would "resemble an upgraded iPhone 5S." We now know it as the iPhone SE. We'll have to wait a while, though, to see if his 2017 predictions are true.

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• Source9to5Mac