Pop up camera, hole-punched camera, under display fingerprint scanner. None of those smartphone features seem to interest Apple. But the folding display seems to pique Apple interests as it has been revealed that the Cupertino tech giant is working on a new technology to enable durable folding display. In the patent filed, Apple detailed how its plan to automatically warm the fold point because a cold display could cause problems, including damaging the display, when folding. I am no engineer to say if that will indeed becomes a problem, but if Apple says so…
Performance aside, the durability of flexible display used on a folding device like those found on the Samsung Galaxy Fold, Huawei Mate X and even the nubia Alpha remains to be seen. In any case, Apple is indeed embarking on making a folding phone, but before even before we get a glimpse how a folding iPhone will look like, the folks over at Foldable.News had asked Dutch industrial designer Roy Gilsing to create a concept. The result is a sleek, folding device that has two displays: an outer display of 1:3 aspect ratio and an inner display that unfolds to an almost squarish 2:3 aspect ratio.
In addition to the portrait and landscape form, the concept took a step further by suggesting that the phone could support partial fold to enable a mini laptop like functionality that allows one touchscreen to serve as a touchscreen keyboard. Interesting. Despite me having partially left the Apple user group (I still use a MacBook and iPad, btw), I do secretly wish to see some real innovations coming from the world’s most prominent tech company. However, I won’t hold my breath for it to happen this year. You probably won’t see a folding iPhone until 2020, or maybe even later.
In the meantime, if you are so incline you can read up on the patent filed by Apple at USPTO, or just savor the images of the gorgeous concept created by Foldable.News and Roy Gilsing.
Images: Roy Gilsing/Foldable.News.
Source: Forbes.
