The tech industry is starting to become more and more interested in foldable smartphones. The first attempt at producing such a device was made by Samsung, with the Galaxy Fold, trying to become the first ever company to sell foldable devices. Sadly, the design of the Galaxy Fold was not the best, and the company had to recall all units. With Samsung out of the way, Apple decided to seize the opportunity to become the first foldable smartphone seller. It seems that the company has already started working on a prototype for a foldable iPhone.
According to reports, Apple patented the new design a few months ago, on January 12th, in the US. It is necessary to point out that, even though Apple has patented the design, it does not mean that the foldable iPhone, as revealed in the patent, is ever going to be officially launched. More often than we think, big companies, including Apple, patent ideas that never come to fruition.
Below you can see an image of Apple’s foldable iPhone patented design:
Apple Files A New Patent For Foldable iPhone
Usually, electronic devices are restricted by a single form factor determined by the size and shape of the display.
If Apple decides to start the next stages of development for the new patent on foldable iPhone, the company will not really be able to release the device before late 2020, at the earliest. Experts say that Apple is far behind Samsung when it comes to foldable devices. Lucky for Apple, Samsung’s first take at a foldable device has already proven to be a fail, after experiencing technical issues and having an extremely high price.
The documentation that comes with the patent says: “Traditionally, electronic devices have a single form factor that may be driven by the size and shape of the display. Because many traditional displays are rigid or at least not flexible, a traditional device that is adaptable to accommodate multiple form factors includes the use of a mechanical hinge or pivot joint. However, these traditional configurations used for traditional notebook and tablet devices are inherently limited by the integration and size required by a separate mechanical hinge.”
Daniel Kiss is the senior editor for News Lair. Daniel was working as a writer since he finished high-school, first for local papers then he started online, nowadays he likes to write about the latest games and tech innovations.
