First look at the iPhone 8

Next year’s iPhone 8 will have a damage-resistant glass face on one or both edges of the handset and replace physical buttons with digital ones that vary depending on which features in use, according to an Apple patent released to the public on Tuesday. “Edge displays may alternatively function as virtual buttons, virtual switches, or informational displays that are supplemental to front side displays,” as it states in the patent description.

The innovations in Apple’s patent go beyond the curved screen and virtual side buttons of the Samsung Galaxy Edge, making the touch sensitive virtual side-display buttons interactive. And the patent illustrations suggest that if the phone is playing music, the sidewall screen would display track information; if the camera function is activated, the sidewall would display photo options.

These sort of technological leaps would seem to be a necessity for Apple, which is confronting weaker demand and stiffer competition from its top rival Samsung and China’s Huawei Technology. The company’s 13-year streak of consecutive quarterly growth ended in March, due largely to flagging iPhone sales, and its third quarter revenue continued this trend, with a 15-percent decline. And though the iPhone 7 will give a boost to Apple’s holiday sales, the handset is basically serving as a bridge to next year’s expected iPhone overhaul. There is speculation those changes could go beyond what’s shown in the patent and possibly result in an “all-glass” model in which every face is interactive.