The coming trend in smartphones will probably feature bendable designs. Tech companies are currently researching and experimenting with methods or approaches that will keep devices flexible at all times.
Around 63 million iPhone users across the globe are in for a treat after Apple patented its foldable product outline. This means that the Cupertino-based group's upcoming units allow flexibility without destroying the integrated components.
Patent number 9,485,862 states that plastic, glass, ceramics, metal, fiber composites and/or any combination of the mentioned matters can be integrated into a bendable smartphone.
While the recent recognition catapults the firm on top of an impending project, the road to shaping it is everything but easy. For instance, the iPhone 6 Plus has been hounded by bending troubles.
While it sounds that Apple is making headway as a pioneer in flexible phones, this is not the exact case. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is awarding a patent, which was filed in 2014, about carbon nanotube circuitry for electronic bendability.
Although breakthroughs in flexible motherboard have been already been recognized in the past, the recognition puts Apple in a special position. The group has successfully made a pathway that allows signals to run into a foldable circuit base. The trail is able to withstand extreme splitting.
Apple's inclusion into the flexible smartphone market suddenly makes things interesting. Other tech heavyweights have already engaged in testing their respective foldable devices.
Aside from owning specific bending patents, the South Korean giant manufacturer is also being recognized for its rollable item approach. Lenovo, on the other hand, has unveiled its design at the Tech World Expo in June while LG has also introduced its flexible OLED surfaces.
Currently, the highly-noted functioning bendable smartphone is ReFlex which was developed at Queen's University.
According to Forbes contributor Brooke Crothers, it is expected that Apple will offer a couple of flexible iPhones in 2019. In addition, the bendable 4.7-inch device can be translated into an iPad mini while a 5.5-inch iPhone can be turned into an iPad when unfolded.
