Despite ongoing rumors, Apple has so far avoided the foldable device trend. However, a new patent suggests that Apple is working on a unique way to make a foldable, sorry "stretchable" display.
It's been reported that Apple will release a foldable something in 2025, and perhaps the new patent application spotted by Apple Insider suggests the Cupertino-based company is working on a new kind of display.
The application submitted to the U.S. Patent office is named "Stretchable Display" and lists 55 (!) inventors. Apple certainly has a team of people on this project from both the United States and Taiwan.
The described device is an OLED display with a "stretchable portion with hermetically sealed rigid pixel islands." Though the application doesn't provide any concrete examples of how the stretchable screen would work, it does indicate that it is potentially for a number of devices including a laptop and a cellular phone.
The application also lists "a smaller device such as a wrist-watch device, a pendant device, a headphone or earpiece device, a device embedded in eyeglasses or other equipment worn on a user's head."
To be fair, Apple is probably covering the bases here for any potential device that it might put a stretchable screen on, even if that never actually comes to pass.
We are speculating here, but with rumors of an Apple Watch with a display that goes all around, it seems like a stretchable display is meant to wrap around and not fold or crease like what you see on Samsung's foldable phones or Motorola's newer Razr flip phones.
There have been rumors that Apple is working on a foldable MacBook for a couple of years now. Whether that imaginary device is more like a Pixel Fold phone or a Lenovo ThinkPad is up in the air. Though analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claims that it'll be a foldable screen device, a potential precursor to a foldable iPhone. Of course, other rumors have claimed that a foldable iPad is coming, but not until 2026 or 2027.
I often wonder if Apple is actually working on a foldable device or its wishful thinking in the tech community for something that matches or exceeds how cool foldable phones like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 actually are.
There are no guarantees that even with a granted patent that we'll see proposed ideas in a final product, but it's interesting to see what Apple is thinking about regarding the future of the company's products.
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