The US Patent and Trademark Office has granted Apple more than fifty new patents and one may be a clue as to what the company is planning on implementing into its long-rumored foldable iPhone.
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For quite some time, we have been hearing rumblings about a foldable iPhone, but rumors suggested Apple wasn’t quite ready to jump into the emerging market due to limitations in display technology, particularly with the crease that is seen on other foldable devices. Additionally, rumors from supply chain insiders indicate Apple won’t be releasing a foldable product until 2027, with the earliest being 2026. By then, engineers should have overcome the display hardware limitation.
Now, Apple is testing its revolutionary foldable panels, and one patent filed with the US trademark office reveals some key details about what could be in Apple’s foldable device. The patent describes “self-healing material” that could be used across the entire display or just in the regions of the display that flex. Apple describes the technology as having healing capabilities when the material is dented or flexed. Additionally, this new material can also begin healing when heat, light or electrical current is applied.
It should be noted that this is only a patent and that company’s, particularly tech companies conducting research and development into next-generation products, file patents all the time, and they are no indication of what will end up in the product that comes to market. Nonetheless, the new technology described within this patent could be what Apple has been looking for to make a foldable Apple product a reality.