iPhone 6 Will Be Just Like... A Samsung?

It's been about ten seconds since Apple dramatically unveiled the iPhone 5S and 5C, but Tim Cook and co have reportedly got big plans for next year's iPhone 6. And by "big plans," we mean "really big screen," plus high-resolution OLED technology, and curves to boot. Yup, you read that right: According to reports by Bloomberg, like LG and Samsung's latest models, which are curved and plastic-backed, Apple's next incarnation of iPhone might lose its classic glass, straight-backed design, and go all bendy.

And there's more! Though Apple has long stuck with LCD technology, Android and other major competitors are moving towards OLED screens, and Apple's decided it's high time to join in. OLED is essentially a more expensive, more flexible big brother to LCD, and has seen critical acclaim when used in televisions and smartphones, thanks to its more sophisticated technology. Problem is, OLED is more expensive than LCD, and it's proven difficult to drive down prices: LG tried to sell a $13,000 OLED television, and — surprise! – no one bought it. Fortunately, Apple's never been too worried about keeping prices low (cough, $3,000 Mac Pro, cough) so this doesn't pose much of a problem.

Though Tim Cook has described OLED as "awful," OLED lends itself better to curved, flexible cellphone models than LCD does. Which seems to have won out here, since Apple's next generation of smartphone could see the biggest screen yet. The iPhone 6 would rival the Galaxy Note 3 for size, according to Bloomberg's sources.

The Note 3 looks like this.

So, imagine this ... only curved. And an iPhone. LG and Samsung are already ahead of the game with their brand-new curved smartphones, which are supposedly more flexible, versatile, and ergonomic than their straight-backed predecessors. Here's Samsung's offering on the right, and LG's on the left.

Basically, Apple's iPhone 6 may look like a love child between everything Android is doing and everything South Korean cellphone megagiants (LG, Samsung) have already done. This flies in the face of Apple's "We innovate, not imitate" mantra, but Apple's been gradually losing market value recently, and it knows it: though the company is doing well, its stock value has fallen by 11 percent this year. Plus, things aren't looking good for either the iPhone 5C or the iPad Air. (Particularly since one iPad Air apparently exploded in an Australian Vodafone store last week.)

Meanwhile, what is for sure is that smartphones are about to take over the world. Seriously: Ericsson, telecom vendor and analyst, has predicted that global smartphone subscriptions will triple between now and 2019. But hang on, you say; doesn't everyone already have a smartphone? Well, in America, sure — but in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, they don't! That is rapidly changing.

As smartphone prices lower and companies set their reach farther — Apple has catered big-time to the gargantuan China market this year — soon, everyone will be able to Instagram their breakfast.

Image: Instagram via Yum Sugar