Apple has been reported to have foldable iPhones already in production. A recent patent circulating online reveals what appears to be a display area strip that will remain visible even when the device is being closed. That stripe, it seems, would be used explicitly for new incoming notifications.
The patent application was released earlier today, July 7, by Patently Apple and was made for someone who doesn't want to have to open a folding iPhone to see notifications.
A new take on the folding iPhone
Apple's latest patent for innovative handset design is for a "exposed display region foldable electronic device," which was created by Paul S. Drzaic and Hoon Sik Kim.
As the two engineers point out, if essential computer functions become unavailable while the screen is folded, a foldable handset can be less convenient than a flat one.
Apple wins a Patent for Future Foldable devices like an iPhone, iPad or MacBook that uses next-gen Fabric Hinges https://t.co/aY6zkge9j4 pic.twitter.com/VdV4IwYPWI — Patently Apple (@PatentlyApple) June 16, 2020
Their solution is a folding device, but not through the center. Most of the screen is thus protected, but there is still a small portion left visible. The design has a combination of a fixed, always-open panel and a fully-closed folding one.
"When the housing is in the folded configuration and the first portion of the display is hidden from view, display notifications, icons, and other content may be displayed on the exposed second portion," as the patent filing for Drzaic and Kim said.
In other words, the notification screen is something very much like the Touch Bar on the MacBook Pro.
Other design possibilities
Drzaic and Kim obviously did some brainstorming on folding ideas for the iPhone. They included other possibilities in their patent filing.
They thought about complete closure of the handset fold, but stay flexible enough to allow the user to push the bottom and top portions in opposite directions, revealing a section of the display.
Even considering using a screen that was so flexible, the Apple engineers could roll up most of it in a tube, leaving just one portion always exposed.
The latest?
Although there is no guarantee Apple is planning a folding iPhone, it continues to look into it. The company has been awarded a patent for an advanced hinge mechanism to prevent earlier creasing of flexible displays by 2020. And for years, it has been researching hinges on foldable iPhones and iPads.
Although a folding iPhone seems inevitable at some stage. There were a lot of patent applications associated with that, Apple's mindset is very much wait-and-see when it comes to any modern technological innovations. In the words of Apple, it needs to be second, not first. Folding smartphones hasn't exactly had the best track records so far, so it's unlikely we'll see a folding iPhone anytime soon.
We've seen a variety of concepts for what shape a folding iPhone might take. While UBS indicated last year that a folding iPad would precede it, maybe that would happen in 2021.
