Apple is reportedly working intensely to bring a foldable iPhone to the market by 2020. Given that the US Patent and Trademark Office has already published an Apple patent for a foldable display, it appears as if Apple is on track to release a foldable smartphone soon. #mobilemagic
Merrill Lynch, a Bank of America wealth management group, has also confirmed that Apple is working with manufacturers in Asia to create a foldable iPhone. Analyst Wamsi Mohan is convinced of the company’s future plans after meeting with several Apple suppliers: “We expect the iPhones this fall to be largely unchanged for the OLED versions although size changes have proved to be a catalyst in the past. Our checks also suggest that Apple is working with suppliers on a foldable phone (that potentially could double up as a tablet) for launch in 2020.”
While foldable smartphones from Apple or Galaxy developers Samsung has been rumored for months, no specifics have surfaced yet. The tech is thought to still be in the early stages of development, meaning that it will be too expensive to mass produce and sell. That said, it is encouraging to see a patent that speaks of “an electronic device may have a flexible portion that allows the device to be folded. The device may have a flexible display. The flexible display may have a bending region that allows the display to bend along a bend axis when the device is folded.”
While nothing is set in stone in terms of a release date for the first foldable smartphone, Apple competitors Samsung and Microsoft have both hinted at their burgeoning foldable tech with the former making plans for a foldable Galaxy X and the latter filing a similar patent for its Surface phone. Meanwhile, Chinese telecommunications company ZTE has already created a semi-folding smartphone with their foldable Axon M by placing two screens on a hinge.
If Apple successfully creates this tech and releases it to the public, the foldable iPhone could become one of the best selling smartphones.
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