Two foldable iPhone prototypes reportedly pass internal durability tests

According to the Taiwanese website, two prototype foldable iPhones have passed internal tests for durability Economic daily news.

Allegedly, tests of a folding hinge system designed by Apple for two different iPhones were recently completed at the Foxconn plant in Shenzhen, China.

The first foldable iPhone tested is reportedly a dual-screen model, which is likely to be the same dual-screen prototype that Jon Prosser rumored in June 2020. Prosser explained at the time that this model used two separate display panels running through a hinge. Although the prototype ‌‌iPhone‌‌ contains two separate screens connected by a hinge, Prosser claims that the panels look “fairly continuous and seamless”. It’s also worth noting that Apple has patented a device with two separate screens that can be joined together to create a single foldable device with a hinge, which sounds strikingly similar to the rumored double-folding Apple-foldable Apple.

The second prototype tested is reportedly a fold-in fold, like the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip or Lenovo’s Moto RAZR. The UDN report claims that this clamshell model will use a flexible Samsung OLED screen. Previous reports also said that earlier in 2020, Apple had ordered a “large number” of Samsung foldable cell phone samples for testing purposes.

It is unclear whether the two devices tested had different hinge systems. The test units are allegedly shells with a very limited inside instead of fully working devices. This is because the main purpose of the testing was to assess the durability of the Apple-designed hinge system. According to the report, Apple is expected to evaluate with which two foldable models to proceed, and that only one will be carried forward to further development.

The findings of this report also seem to be reflected in sources who spoke to Jon Prosser. Prosser explained in a recent Front Page Tech video that there were two prototype foldable iPhones in the test, including one with two display panels and one clamshell with a single flexible OLED screen. Prosser’s sources also said that these units have passed the durability test and are now being evaluated by Apple.

A November 2020 report states that Apple sent foldable iPhones to Foxconn to test the folders with more than 100,000 opening and closing tests, which appears to be analogous to the newly completed test. Given the consistency of rumors surrounding foldable iPhones from various sources, especially with regard to testing, it can be more credible.

UDN predicts that a collapsible ‘iPhone’ will only appear in early 2022 or 2023. Apple has filed a large number of patents related to a foldable iPhone dating back to 2016, and it seems likely that work on a foldable ‌iPhone‌ is progressing.