The Apple rumour mill is failing to slow down this month. Just days after the release of the highly anticipated iPhone 8 and X smartphones, whispers reached several media outlets hinting at three new retail models being prepped for a 2018 release. Now, barely two weeks later, we’re already hearing of another potential bombshell thanks to the US Patent and Trademark offices.
According to a new claim delivered on November 23, Apple is hard at work developing a foldable mobile device. The patent was originally filed all the way back on September 22 of last year, meaning that the tech team at Cupertino has likely put considerable man hours into researching the design’s potential.
Apple’s patent points to a throwback cellphone design and includes a clamshell folding technique. Of course, the technology involved with product will be highly advanced and will have to include a malleable touchscreen that can easily tuck away into one’s pocket. In addition, the responsiveness of the LED display will have to be updated to cooperate with the phone’s complicated architecture.
The American tech giant isn’t the only company to be researching this awesome new idea. Multiple media outlets reported last week that Samsung is in the midst of their very own folding design. James Rogerson of TechRadar went as far as to state that a flexible Galaxy phone is very much on its way to store shelves. Despite all of the hullabaloo regarding a mysterious “Galaxy X”, there has yet to be any official announcement from Samsung.
In the meantime, we can drool at the possibility of a foldable iPhone in the near future. You can read highlights from the patent below, and be sure to check out a rough sketch from the US P&T office which we’ve also included.
“An electronic device may have a flexible portion that allows the device to be folded. The device may have a flexible display. The flexible display may have a flexible display layer, a cover layer, a touch sensor interposed between the flexible display layer and the cover layer, a support layer, and a polarizer layer. The polarizer layer may be interposed between the touch sensor and the flexible display or between the touch sensor and the cover layer.
The touch sensor may include optically clear adhesive that is flexible and facilitates bending of the display. The optically clear adhesive may include additives such as water vapor penetration reducing additive, anticorrosion additive, ultraviolet-light blocking additive, and index-of-refraction adjustment additive. The support layer may be formed from shape memory alloy or amorphous metal and may have openings to facilitate bending.”
