The rumor mill for the next-generation iPhone 6 has been churning for a while now and many renderings and specifications of the upcoming smartphone have been surfacing online. A recent report indicates that the next-gen Apple smartphone may also have screens on both sides of the handset.

The year 2012 was quite demanding for Apple — the release of iPhone 5 and iPad mini came as positives, even as the company locked horns with rivals in courtroom battles; however, the Apple Maps fiasco forced Tim Cook to apologize, even as Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Note 2 threatened iPhone's supremacy. The year 2013 seems equally threatening, as Samsung, HTC and Sony have already launched their flagship smartphones for 2013.

"APPLE could give the iPhone 6 curved screens on BOTH SIDES in its most radical redesign yet. A patent taken out by the tech giants in 2011 describes the radical redesign, which also ditches the iconic home button. This would be a bold move by the brand - as every iPhone to date has featured the single key below the screen," reports The Sun.

It will be a major overhaul if Apple adopts the redesigned curved screen with AMOLED display for the iPhone 6 (without the standard home button), as found on all previous versions of all iPhones.

Apple always enthralls iFans with top-end specifications and features in its iDevices. The iPhone 5 is the thinnest and the lightest iPhone the company has ever made but it still retains the squarish design. A curved design, coupled with edge-to-edge screens on both sides of the handset, would revolutionize the smartphone space.

Apple has not yet confirmed the launch of iPhone 6, so we will have to wait and see if the next-generation iPhone 6 is the first Apple smartphone to have screens on both sides of the device.