Apple iPhone 5 Could Have iPod-like Curved Glass Display

The Apple iPhone 5 rumors just keep piling on. In the latest, Taiwanese newspaper DigiTimes reports that the fifth-generation iPhone will come with a curved glass display, the same kind Apple has been using in its iPods since the fourth-generation iPod Nano came out in 2008.

Citing sources from Apple's supply chain in Taiwan, DigiTimes says that that Apple has bought 200 to 300 glass-cutting machines to eventually be used by cover glass makers. Apple had to purchase the machines because "cover glass makers have apparently been reluctant to commit investment to the purchase of glass cutting equipment due to the high capital involved," the report says. The machines are being stored at Apple's assembly plants (like Foxconn) until "yield rates" are satisfactory.

Several newer phones have already adopted a curve glass display, like Samsung's Nexus S, LG's G2x With Google, and Samsung's Galaxy Prevail. The concave glass display of the Nexus S is often praised for feeling more comfortable when holding it up to your face. In fact curved glass displays are more about aesthetics and "perceived usability" (as Engadget notes in its review for the Nexus S) than any actual change to display quality.

Rumors about the iPhone 5 are piling up and will undoubtedly continue past the expected announcement at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference in June (where Apple announced the iPhone 4); last week an AT&T rep reportedly confirmed to a customer that the next-generation iPhone won't make its debut in June or July. Meanwhile Verizon CFO Fran Shammo slipped that the next Verizon iPhone will work on CDMA and GSM networks.

For the most enduring rumors about the iPhone 5, including a teardrop-shaped profile and edge-to-edge screen, see 8 Likely iPhone 5 Rumors, and 2 Wild Ones. Also check out changes to Apple's retail stores, aka Apple Store 2.0, that the company revealed on Sunday.