Why You Can Trust CNET Foldable iPhone suggested in new Apple patent
It's just in time for Samsung's Galaxy X folding phone reveal next week.
- Patrick's play The Cowboy is included in the Best American Short Plays 2011-12 anthology. He co-wrote and starred in the short film Baden Krunk that won the Best Wisconsin Short Film award at the Milwaukee Short Film Festival.
An updated patent by Apple shows various ways it could use a flexible or folding display.
Advertiser Disclosure
Everyday it seems like there are rumors and leaks about another company working on a foldable phone. Xiaomi , Huawei , LG , Lenovo , Motorola all are rumored to have a bendable or foldable phone in the works. On Thursday, Apple updated a patent with drawings of a foldable clamshell phone. This is a continuation of a patent originally filed in 2011 and updated in 2016 with a drawing of what might be an iPhone with a flexible display.
What makes this new update particularly interesting is the timing. On Wednesday, Feb. 20, Samsung is expected to show off more of its folding Galaxy X phone when it announces its new Galaxy S10.
The new drawings show a phone that folds up in half. It's a similar approach Motorola has in a patent for an updated Razr phone to make the phone more pocketable when not in use. Samsung and Xiaomi's approaches seem more about transforming a phone into a mini-tablet.
Two drawings showing a clamshell form factor with a display folding inward and another with it folding outward.
Of particular interest are the various ways Apple shows incorporating hinges and housing around a flexible OLED display to make it bend. There are drawings of a clamshell design and another illustration is of a trifold design. The drawings show flexible screens folding up inward and outward which could indicate a use in something beyond a phone like a MacBook or iPad .
The patent shows off how hinges and housing can bend a flexible display
Here's another drawing showing a trifold design.
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
These new additions to Apple's patent for a flexible display are no guarantee that the company will release a foldable iPhone is 2019, but it's still exciting to think about.
