Analysts have long urged Apple to press ahead with the launch of its first foldable iPhone, but patent activity suggests the company has bigger plans.
As spotted by Patently Apple, Apple has filed a patent application (US-20230221766-A1) for a rollable display with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Inventors Que Anh S Nguyen and Christopher Jones describe a flexible display that can be rolled up on one or both sides in various scenarios.
The display will be based on OLED or micro-LED technology, with the LED printed on a flexible polymer base. In another variant, flexible glass is used for this purpose; the inventors envision that the thickness of the glass coating on the inside will shrink from the edge towards the center, making the glass even more flexible for lamination.
While pundits remain fascinated by the folding technology available for the iPhone, this invention won’t be limited to smartphones. The inventors also discuss its use in tablets and portable electronic devices, including a MacBook.
USPTO
The patent specification is relatively short, comprising only twelve pages, but it represents only one entry in an ongoing series of such applications. Only two days earlier, a patent called “Internal Coating for Glass Structures in Electronic Devices” had been approved, and one of the authors of that patent had been working on that one.
That Anh S Nguyen is the lead author of at least 12 patents at Apple, all in the same area of flexible and foldable displays. The first patent was approved by the USPTO in March 2017 and is titled “Transparent Transition Layer to Maintain Coated Glass Flexibility”.
It’s worth noting that while patent activity often provides insight into Apple’s future, it doesn’t guarantee that such a product will ever be launched. Apple usually undertakes research and patent activities in various directions, even if there are no immediate plans for a corresponding product line.
This article originally appeared on Macwelt and was translated and edited by David Price.
