Your next iPhone screen could be curved and made by Samsung

iPhone 7 news
iPhone 7 news

Beyond iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus next month, we've been hearing rumors about a radically different 2017 iPhone, one that's made of glass and elegantly curved.

Of course, some things never change. Samsung, which is Apple's oldest frenemy in the mobile business, may supply the all-important curved OLED phone display, according to Nikkei.

This makes sense, as the Galaxy Note 7 and Galaxy S7 Edge prove that Samsung has ample experience with curved displays, and the design has been effective in driving phone sales.

Samsung manufacturing Apple's curved OLED displays isn't a total shocker. It owns the curved screen market on smartphones, outside of last year's LG G Flex 2.

It has also supplied many iPhone parts in the past, despite what Apple purists want to believe; everything from processors, to RAM, to internal flash memory.

iPhone 7 Pro reborn

Apple was planning a third iPhone 7 handset this year, according to earlier rumors, but the speculation on the higher-end phone coming out in 2016 has since fizzled.

iPhone vs Samsung Note 7

More like the curvy Note 7, less like the surfboard iPhone

Dubbed the iPhone 7 Pro, this 5.5-inch handset was scrapped, reported Nikkei, but it sounds like it'll just be reborn for the iPhone's 10th anniversary milestone with this curved display and all-glass body.

A wrap-around screen could lead the 2017 iPhone to be larger than 5.5 inches without increasing in size. There's also hope of an always-on display like the Galaxy S7 and LG G5.

iPhone sales have dropped in the last year, so all ideas seem to be on the table for Apple. Right now, it has to get through another iPhone cycle with a way better camera, but very similar design.

Matt Swider