What! An all-glass iPhone in 2017?

Dubai - Forbes.com reported that Catcher chairman and CEO Allen Horng said "Apple will make its 2017 iPhone using a glass casing".

While the focus in the Apple world is on the next iteration of its flagship smartphone in September, hype has been ratcheted with the model that will come out next year: an all-glass iPhone.
A report on Saturday seemingly confirmed a long-standing rumour that the US technology giant will be coming up with a major overhaul on the design of its iconic device. More details came out from the top official of the iPhone's long-time chassis-maker, Catcher Technology - who had also previously dropped the bomb during a recent event.
Forbes.com reported that Catcher chairman and CEO Allen Horng said "Apple will make its 2017 iPhone using a glass casing".
This would also prove to be more expensive to produce, hence an almost-certain higher price to pay for consumers.
Catcher would require "advanced processing technology", the report added. The glass chassis would be supported by a metal frame.
This is in parallel to what Horng said at the company's shareholder meeting on May 19, in which he told reporters: "As far as I know, only one [iPhone] model will adopt glass casing next year." It was unclear whether his proclamation was premeditated or by mistake.
Another rumour is that the new device - speculated to be called a variety of names including iPhone 7s, iPhone 7 Pro, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus or even the hotly talked-about iPhone Pro - is said to be released in early 2017. Industry analysts, however, believe that Apple would do away with the iPhone 7s for the device's 10th anniversary.
This year's would-be iPhone 7 is touted to have a design akin to its direct predecessors, the 6 and 6s.
The reports confirm a forecast from reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities, who forecast that the iPhone will undergo a huge redesign next year. He believes that Apple's strategy is one of setting it - again - above the rest: as most of its competitors are adopting aluminium designs, the move to glass will allow Apple to once again differentiate itself with new materials.
Kuo - who had previously predicted future Apple trends with success and christened by Cult of Mac as the "best Apple analyst on the planet" - however, did not go into detail how an iPhone made out of glass would be done. And this is currently the case in the industry as it is actually unclear how Apple would be able to pull it off.
Apple had already used glass on the back of its iPhone 4 and 4s models, but assembling one made entirely out of the material - while making sure it will have a phone like no other - will definitely be a challenge.
Aside from dropping the aluminium chassis, Apple would also replace the LED display with Amoled and will ramp up its battery to 3100mAh, which is 12.5 per cent bigger than that in the 6s.
- alvin@khaleejtimes.com