iPhone 7 Release Date Rumors: Liquidmetal Patent Hints At Curved Screen, No Home Button; Plus Device To Have 7.04 Watt-Hour Battery

A new patent found by Apple hints at a fresh and newly designed iPhone 7. The patent suggest the company will use Liquidmetal and in turn design a phone with a curved display and no physical home button.

The patent found by Patently Apple, titled "Bulk amorphous alloy pressure sensor" describes means for using Liquidmetal to improve the mechanism that makes home button presses possible. The patent explains that the Liquidmetal could be used for internal components to improve precision, tactile feedback but also to prevent wear and tear over time.

Furthermore, Apple gives a few explanations about what kind of device the Liquidmetal will serve:

"Display screen 16 (e.g., a touch screen) is merely one example of an input-output device that may be used with electronic device 10. […]Button 19 may be, for example, a menu button. Port 20 may contain a 30-pin data connector (as an example). Buttons, for some devices, are designed for receipt of a human finger. As such, it may be desirable for the buttons to have a design and size to receive a human finger or thumb. […] In the example of FIG. 4, display screen 16 is shown as being mounted on the front face of handheld electronic device 10, but display screen 16 may, if desired, be mounted on the rear face of handheld electronic device 10, on a side of device 10, on a flip-up portion of device 10 that is attached to a main body portion of device 10 by a hinge (for example), or using any other suitable mounting arrangement."

"A user of electronic device 10 may supply input commands using user input interface devices such as button 19 and touch screen 16. Touch screen 16 may be replaced with a display screen with a plurality of buttons positioned underneath the screen, each button optionally being designed in a manner similar to button 19. […] Although shown schematically as being formed on the top face of electronic device 10 in the example of FIG. 4, buttons such as button 19 and other user input interface devices may generally be formed on any suitable portion of electronic device 10. For example, a button such as button 19 or other user interface control may be formed on the side of electronic device 10. Buttons and other user interface controls can also be located on the top face, rear face, or other portion of device 10."

The patent application was filed in summer of 2012, ahead of the 3D Touch features introduction. However, the drawings seen in the patent mention a pressure-sensitive layer placed underneath the glass cover.

Meanwhile, HDBlog.it has shared images of what is believed to be the battery that will be included in the iPhone 7. The battery lists a capacity of 7.04 watt-hours, which is slightly larger in capacity than the equivalent battery capacity listed for the iPhone 6s and almost identical to the iPhone 6. Check out the image of the battery below: