Foldable iPhone: When Will Apple Join the Trend?

 Two foldable smartphones, the Galaxy Fold and the Galaxy Flip Z, both of which have a foldable design that transforms from one shape to another, were unveiled by Samsung in 2019 and 2020.

The Galaxy Fold flips to a 7.3-inch tablet from a 4.6-inch smartphone, while the Galaxy Z Flip is a 6.7-inch smartphone that folds in half to be more compact. Foldable smartphones have also been released by other companies, such as Motorola and Huawei. The technology is new and still fraught with problems, but right now, foldable smartphones are a trend and a trend that could one day be embraced by Apple.

Foldable iPhone Rumors

In 2016, when reports indicated that LG display will mass-produce foldable displays for smartphones in 2018 and supply them to businesses such as Apple and Google, hints of a foldable iPhone started.

The folding iPhone idea was held alive by a 2017 rumour, suggesting that Apple was working with LG to create an iPhone with a foldable display. LG has a variety of foldable display designs, including one that folds over like a book and a second that rolls up like a newspaper, using flexible OLED sheets.

Samsung has more recently offered to supply Apple with foldable displays for use in future iPhones, and Apple supplier Corning is working on a foldable glass solution. Corning is a current supplier to Apple and Corning's foldable glass sounds promising for a potential iPhone.

It is speculated that Samsung will provide Apple with foldable display prototypes from September 2020 for a potential foldable iPhone. Samsung has reportedly sent samples for one year to Apple, signalling that Apple is ramping up work on a foldable iPhone.

Leaker Jon Prosser reports that Apple is working on a prototype foldable iPhone that features two different display panels that are connected to the Samsung Galaxy Fold by a hinge rather than a single display configuration.

The screen, like the iPhone 11, is said to have round, stainless steel sides, and although there is no notch, Apple has added a "tiny forehead" containing Face ID. While the prototype is two different panels, the displays together look fairly continuous and seamless." Apple is likely to test several prototype designs and it is not clear if this prototype (or any prototype) will make it to an actual prototype.

According to reports from the Chinese supply chain, Apple reportedly began sending foldable iPhones to Foxconn for testing purposes in November 2020. Evaluating the use of OLED or micro-LED as well as the use of bearings (the foldable component) is part of the examination. With more than 100,000 opening and fold acts, Foxconn will be stress testing the system.

Foldable iPhone Patents

Apple patents all sorts of items that never become finished goods, so patents are not generally a reliable way to predict what is being produced, but Apple has a few foldable iPhone patents.

The first foldable iPhone patent from Apple appeared in 2016, defining a device that uses a flexible OLED display and a hinged metal support system to fold in half horizontally. When the phone is shut down, both halves of the display remain visible, and there are even illustrations illustrating multiple-folded devices.

A 2019 patent application describes a foldable smartphone with an integrated heating element or display heating function to minimise folding failures in cold temperatures, an issue that can affect foldable smartphones.

A patent for a foldable system with a hinge mechanism using movable flaps was granted to Apple in February 2020 to help prevent the display from being creased or damaged when folded.

The hinge mechanism is designed to ensure that the first and second sections of the display are properly segregated. Movable flaps stretch to fill the gap when the device is unfolded, and then retract when the device is folded.

A unique alternative to a foldable iPhone is defined in an Apple patent granted in March, describing a system that would allow two or more devices to function as one when brought close to each other through the use of proximity sensors.

The patent envisages two separate devices that when put together with a shared monitor, automatically detect one another. The wording of the patent seems to suggest that in seamless contact with each other, Apple could create a single bendable computer consisting of two displays.

A 2020 patent filing indicates that Apple is investigating a security layer that would withstand cracking for a foldable 'iPhone.' The iPhone will have a hardcoat coating that would fill pre-existing micro-cracks in order to make it more difficult for a larger crack to emerge.

The extra layer would be placed directly on top of the display and would resist punctures and scratches.

When Will Apple Launch a Foldable iPhone?

At this time, there is no clear proof that a foldable iPhone is in the works for a near future launch. In 2018, a note from an analyst at Bank of America Merrill Lynch indicated that a foldable iPhone would arrive in 2020, but that did not happen.

A November 2020 Chinese supply chain rumour indicated that Apple is planning for a foldable iPhone release date in 2022.

What Will Apple's Foldable iPhone Look Like?

With no clear reports in the works about a foldable iPhone, there is no word about what shape a foldable smartphone might take.

We have seen foldable smartphones as reference examples, folding vertically from Samsung and Huawei both inwards and outwards. The patents of Apple feature a system that folds horizontally and is not quite as large as the versions of Huawei and Samsung smartphones, but the patents of Apple are conceptual.

Before it's further along in production, we don't know what Apple's foldable smartphone would look like, but there is reportedly a prototype working on that features two screens linked by a hinge.

What's the Competition?

Samsung has come out with the Galaxy Fold, a $1,980 smartphone that folds half-inward thanks to a hidden hinge in the centre, as described above.

folds in half inwards thanks to a hidden hinge in the middle.

Early reviews have not been great for Samsung's phones, so it remains to be seen if the trend of the foldable smartphone will catch on. However, Samsung has other folding smartphones in the works, so it sounds like the business in South Korea is not prepared to abandon a trend it initiated.

In February 2020, Samsung released the Galaxy Z Flip, a second-generation foldable smartphone. A 6.7-inch smartphone that folds in half to make it more portable and pocketable is the Galaxy Z Flip. It varies from the Galaxy Fold because it begins with a smartphone size and is not operable when folded, whereas the Galaxy Fold is a convertible device designed to be both a smartphone when folded and a tablet when unfolded.

In February 2019, Huawei launched a folding smartphone, the Mate X, priced at $2,600. The Mate X folds outwards instead of inwards, unlike the Galaxy Fold, which when closed gives it a view on both sides. When extended, the Mate X measures 6.6 inches in smartphone mode and 8 inches.

inches when expanded.

Similar to the Galaxy Z Flip, Motorola also has a foldable smartphone, the RAZR. It's designed to look like the classic Motorola RAZR flip phone, but to provide a full-screen experience with a screen that folds in half.

half to provide a full-screen experience.

Foldable Smartphone Issues

Samsung was compelled to postpone the launch of Samsung's first foldable smartphone, the Galaxy Fold,

When launching the Galaxy Fold, Samsung was forced to delay the debut after testers found significant durability problems with one of the new devices, with screens cracking after only a few days of use.

after just a few days of use.

With some design tweaks, Samsung fixed the issues, making the Galaxy Fold more robust and better able to withstand repeated folding.

Similar issues with the Galaxy Z Flip have been discovered, and there have been concerns about the display quality (the Galaxy Z Flip uses bendable glass) and at least one consumer has seen problems with the cold temperature cracking of the display.

The RAZR of Motorola has also not done well and after only a week of use, one reviewer saw the monitor of the system crack down the middle with no known cause causing the failure.

Apple may be planning to wait until the technology is more mature before attempting to launch its own foldable iPhone, considering the high price points of foldable iPhones, their sensitive nature, and their penchant for failure.