Expect Bigger Apple iPhones and iPads in 2017 as Bezels Go Bye-Bye

In 2017, Apple is expected to unveil iPhones with new screen sizes. Instead of the 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch designs found on the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, respectively, the new models will be available with 5-inch and 5.8-inch displays. The change comes as Apple moves to OLED displays.

The news comes from Barclays analysts Blayne Curtis and Christopher Hemmelgarn who cite supply chain sources spoken to during a trip to Asia.

They note:

iPhone 8 design didn’t sound 100% locked down but we believe the move is to a bezel-less design with screen sizes getting larger and curved edges in the original envelope. The IP8 moves to 5″ (from 4.7″) and the Plus moves to 5.8″ (from 5.5″).

This isn’t the first time we heard that next year’s iPhone is getting bigger. In March, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that Apple “is planning a major overhaul of the iPhone” for 2017, “including the adoption of an all-new curved glass casing paired with a curved 5.8-inch AMOLED display.”

More recent rumors offered similar insight.

Business Insider also reports that Apple plans on announcing bezel-less tablets as early as March. Like iPhone, the move towards OLED means that iPad sizes are increasing.

Curtis and Hemmelgarn explain:

New iPads in March — Bezel-less [like the upcoming iPhone] — We expect the 9.7″ to move to a low-cost model, a refresh of the 12.9″ pro and a new 10.9″, which is likely the same physical size as the 9.7″ but with a borderless screen.

In August, Kuo also said that Apple is planning on launching three new iPad Pro devices in 2017: a 9.7-inch tablet, a 12.9-inch tablet, and a brand new 10.5-inch iPad Pro, too.

In 2017, Apple celebrates the 10th anniversary of the first iPhone. Because of this, Cupertino has largely been expected to make key design changes on the so-called “iPhone 8,” which is likely to launch in September of next year.

Increasingly, it looks like 2017 will also be a big year for iPad changes as well.