Apple Reportedly Working on a Glasses-Free 3D iPhone Display

The Chinese publication Economic Daily News reports (via UDN) citing supply chain sources that Apple's supply partner TPK has already started raising the funds for the materials required to develop the glasses-free 3D iPhone display panels.

The publication suggests that Apple will need to use a new type of display touch panels, as the current in-cell display of the iPhone 6 won't be compatible with 3D. It further added that along with the 3D hardware, Apple is actively building a software ecosystem for the 3D display.

While the report claims TPK is making the new glasses-free display for the "next generation iPhone", though this does not seem very likely as the next iPhone would be an incremental upgrade over the iPhone 6 (Review | Pictures) and iPhone 6 Plus (Review | Pictures), following Apple's product roadmap, in the same way the iPhone 5s was for the iPhone 5.

Glasses-free 3D or auto-stereoscopic displays, as the names suggest, don't require special 3D glasses for the user to see a three-dimensional image.

While there is nothing concrete about Apple's plans, a recent patent granted (via 9to5Mac) by the company in September certainly suggests that a 3D interface is in the pipeline.

The USPTO patent titled "Interactive holographic display device" describes the technology that Apple could use to display interactive holograms on a device while using multi-touch gestures. In this case as well, the image will appear in 3D without the need of a 3D glass.

If the reports are correct, and Apple is indeed planning on a glasses-free 3D display, it won't be the first such attempt by a major manufacturer. Both HTC and LG introduced the Evo 3D and Optimus 3D in 2011, and neither glasses-free 3D smartphones did very well in the market. Of course, since then, display technology has moved forward significantly, and successful auto-stereoscopic implementations have hit the market, such as the Nintendo 3DS.

A 3D user interface is also nothing new, and Amazon with its recently-launched Fire Phone had introduced the Dynamic Perspective 3D-interface.

At this point, we can only say the rumour should be taken with a pinch of salt. Tell us what you think about the possibility of Apple using a glasses-free 3D display for the iPhone in the comments section below.