If a new patent Apple recently rewarded is any indication, the foldable market could heat up in a big way.
The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has awarded Apple a patent for a device that comes with a foldable display and a "self-healing display" that would use heat from a range of sources, including light, current and external heat that would allow for the display's surface to return to form. The patent, which was earlier reported on by Patently Apple, would also come with a layer at the top of its screen that would heal on its own.
Either way, offering a foldable would be a first for Apple, which has been stubbornly stuck to flat-paneled phones since the iPhone's launch nearly 20 years ago. However, the foldable market is still relatively slow, partly due to the small number of competitors in the space. Apple joining the fray could jumpstart the industry and put its competitors to the test.
But before we get ahead of ourselves, there are some things to remember. For one, a patent award doesn't mean that the technology will ever make its way to a device. Like any major tech company, Apple files for patents all the time, and many of its patents never find their way to its hardware.
Additionally, the patent itself is exceptionally vague. The way the screen could be heated included almost every imaginable option. Apple said the self-healing layer would be made of "polymer or any desired material having self-healing properties." Moreover, the company said it could "extend across the entire exterior surface of the display cover" or perhaps sit on a portion of the screen.
