Report: iPhone 6 to have curved screen and larger displays

The latest-generation iPhones might still be in the process of rolling out around the world but reports are already coming in of what to expect when Tim Cook takes to the stage in September 2014 to announce the iPhone 6.

According to Bloomberg, Apple is getting ready to build bigger phones with 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch displays. What's more, if the publication's sources are to be believed, as well as being larger, the displays will curve downwards at the edges. Apple's current flagship iPhone, the 5S, has a high resolution 4-inch screen and the iPhone 4S, the entry level model, a mid-resolution 3.5-inch display.

This revelation tallies with a recent Apple patent published in March that describes wrapping the edges of a display around the sides of a handheld device in order to offer virtual buttons for actions such as volume and ringer settings and for offering new controls based on the app running at a particular time.

However, the reason why Apple has so far resisted the temptation to build phones with massive displays is because it wants to make sure its devices can be used comfortably with a single hand. Once a handset passes the 5-inch display barrier, only taller (usually male) users have sufficient hand span required to hold and operate the device comfortably with one hand.

But that doesn't seem to be an issue for Android device makers: 2013 has been notable for the number of flagship devices hitting the market with 5-inch and greater screens, from the Sony Xperia Z1 to the Samsung Galaxy SIV.

The suggestion that the company is playing with 5.5-inch displays raises questions as to the veracity of its sources, but, along with the Wall Street Journal and New York Times, Bloomberg is one of the few publications with a solid reputation when it comes to Apple rumors.

Bloomberg also claims that Apple is examining the benefits of pressure sensitivity so that a display responds differently depending on the pressure exerted by a finger or even a stylus -- a great feature for artists and designers who want to increase or decrease the weight of a line when using a phone or tablet for free-hand sketching, for example -- but a technology that won't be expected to result in the debut of any features until 2015.