It seems that the next Apple phones will be flexible devices.

Apple has been hit in the news that started last year with what some observers call the 'Bendgate', where new iPhones, particularly the iPhone 6, apparently curves when put in its owners' pockets. Now, with the upcoming release of the company's new flagship smartphone, they might be turning what others considered a weakness, into a whole new iPhone feature.

In a file posted at the United States Patent Office, the Cupertino-based company was granted patent for a flexible handset. In the new smartphone, the screen, the battery, and other components can be bent out of shape without damaging the device.

According to the patent, "A flexible electronic device may include a flexible display, a flexible housing and one or more flexible internal components configured to allow the flexible electronic device to be deformed. Flexible displays may include flexible display layers, flexible touch-sensitive layers, and flexible display cover layers. The flexible housing may be a multi-stable flexible housing having one or more stable positions."

If the patent pushes through, Apple fans may see a flexible iPhone 7 by next year. In some tech sources, it is reported that instead of the next smartphone flagship, Apple is focusing on launching an improved version of their current line ups, the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. The upcoming flagship products, the new iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, will feature improvements over their predecessors' specs. Moreover, the upcoming Apple flagship devices will have much improved battery life, additional Force Touch technology, and will come in three sizes.

Meanwhile, most tech observers say that Apple will launch the iPhone 7 by next year, as they still have to validate and release an official version of the new iOS 9. The current version, iOS 8.3, will be superseded by an incoming 8.4 version, already being tested in beta. The iOS 9, in the meantime, is rumoured to be launched late this year in its beta version.