Folding yes, folding no. The market seems a little divided on the question of devices that can be folded. So far we have seen several proposals from different manufacturers, but not from Apple. While Samsung mocks the Cupertino company in the occasional ad for this lack of bendability, in the secret labs of Apple Park they have other plans.
Folding technology is not new to Apple. The company has filed several patents in recent years related to this technology. The latest patent, granted by the US Patent and Trademark Office, tells us about a screen designed to resist cracking
Maybe we’re not talking about a foldable iPhone, but something is being considered in Cupertino
The patent in question, as they tell us in Patently Apple, refers to a display made up of several layers, including a flexible substrate, a layer of thin film transistors and a protective layer
Thanks to this, Apple would make it possible to obtain a very substantial increase in the resistance of this type of screens to almost inevitable cracks. But that’s not all. Apple also filed a patent for a self-healing display some time ago. Technology would allow the screen to recover from minor scratches, which is another common problem with foldable devices that have to use plastic as a coating material.
Although many analysts think we’re unlikely to see a foldable iPhone, yes we have heard rumors of a possible foldable iPad. A device where the ability to expand the screen area or reduce its size makes much more sense than in a phone, where the change would be less.
As we always say in these cases, a patent is just that, and it’s far from a finished device. What is clear is that Apple is studying this technology. Will it make it to an Apple Watch strap? Will we ever see a Mac that’s a big, foldable screen? Time will tell. What we do know is that Apple is actively researching foldables.
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