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- Apple is waiting for Samsung to perfect a next-generation OLED screen that bends almost vertically around a phone, a Chinese leaker claims. The design would turn the sides of the device into part of the display and could produce the first truly bezel-free iPhone.
The claim comes from Instant Digital, a leaker active on Weibo. Samsung reportedly describes the technology internally as a full-surround, full-screen display. Unlike earlier curved waterfall screens, the main panel stays completely flat. The OLED instead folds sharply downward at close to 90 degrees on all four edges and corners.
The folded sections would form the sides of the phone and replace the usual metal or plastic frame. Display wiring and components normally hidden behind the bezel could move to the edges. The approach could also allow an iPhone without conventional mechanical buttons.
Apple is waiting for Samsung to settle the remaining problems, the leaker says. These include optical distortion and colour shifts at the corners. Samsung must also keep the OLED protected from air and moisture through the extreme bends, and find space for antennas when the display covers all four sides.
The full-surround design is more radical than the screen expected on the iPhone 20. Apple marks the 20th anniversary of the iPhone in 2027, and its Pro models are widely reported to use a quad-curved display that wraps gently around all four sides, with glass curving into a thin metal band. A Korean supply chain report from May said Apple would accept some risk of screen distortion on the 2027 model, with a corrected version planned for 2028.
LG Display is also involved in the bezel-free effort. Reports from December said the company was considering an investment of about 400 billion won, or nearly 300 million US dollars, because producing the four-sided bending design requires major changes to its production lines.
Apple already relies heavily on Samsung Display for its most advanced screens. Samsung holds a three-year exclusive agreement to supply foldable OLED panels for the iPhone Duo, the first folding iPhone, which Apple introduced in September 2026. The panels use Color Filter on Encapsulation technology, which removes the polariser and improves durability at the bend. Apple reportedly chose Samsung because LG Display and BOE could not meet its quality and yield requirements.
Not every observer accepts the full-surround timeline. The leaker Ice Universe has argued that a true quad-curved panel is difficult to manufacture and that Apple may settle for a visual effect rather than a deeply bent screen.
The concept itself is not new. Xiaomi showed a quad-curved waterfall display concept phone in 2021 with screens flowing over the edges. That device never went on sale, which reflects how hard it is to mass-produce such panels.
No release date was given for the full-surround display. Apple has not commented, as the company does not discuss unreleased products.
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