Speculation is mounting that Apple is working on a foldable iPhone – which may or may not be called the iPhone Flip – and now reports from supply chain sources in Asia report that two prototypes have just passed the necessary durability tests.
According to the United Daily News, these prototypes are just phone caps, and we assume that the enclosures and the screens include, but not the various internal components. They were apparently tested in China in a factory run by Apple’s regular supplier Foxconn.
It is said that one prototype uses a form factor, such as the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip or the Motorola Razr. When opened, the phone has one single and uninterrupted screen, and then the top half folds over the bottom half.
The second prototype apparently uses a dual screen design, more like the Microsoft Surface Duo: it opens like a book, with a hinge running in the middle of two separate screens. It’s not yet clear if Apple has the preference for one design or another.
Another hinge patent appears
Meanwhile, a new patent file has been released showing the hinge mechanism that Apple can use on one of its foldable iPhone designs. This would allow the phone to fold both sides, inwards (like the Galaxy Z Fold 2) and outwards (like the Huawei Mate Xs).
Entitled “Folding Electronic Devices With Geared Hinges”, the patent declares the need to give users as much real estate as possible without bulging the device – this is where the folding screen comes in.
As always with patents, this one shows a potential design rather than an end product, and there is no guarantee that Apple will eventually go with this dual direction. We’ve already seen different hinge designs, possibly for a foldable iPhone, that have been covered in previous Apple patents.
With so much information leaking out, it seems that Apple is at least seriously considering an iPhone Flip model if it can meet the necessary standards of quality and durability. However, do not expect the device to appear before 2022 at the earliest.
Via MacRumors, AppleInsider