Apple could join the fight of Samsung, Oppo and Motorola by launching a foldable smartphone around 2025. Earlier, the Cupertino giant filed a patent for a new technology that would protect iPhone and iPad models with flexible screens from damage even when dropped from great heights. With this latest technology, devices would be able to detect a fall and instantly collapse on their way to the ground to minimize damage. According to the patent, folding the display at an angle less than 180 degrees can provide some protection for the devices.
As in the beginning sighted Patently Apple has filed an application with Apple patent from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announcing new security features for the screens of iPhone and iPad devices. The patent, titled “Self-Retracting Display Device And Techniques For Protecting Screen Using Drop Detection,” relates to a motorized folding device mechanism that can partially or fully close a foldable device before it hits the ground in a drop event to protect its display to protect.
Made from ultra-thin glass, the foldable displays and rollable displays can be prone to falls, and the proposed technology would be beneficial in controlling the damage by closing the device to protect its display.
“Mobile devices with foldable and rollable displays may use a sensor to detect vertical acceleration (eg, acceleration with respect to the ground) to determine if the mobile device has been dropped,” the patent application reads. “If the sensor detects that the mobile device has been dropped… the foldable device can at least partially retract to provide protection from the fragile display hitting the ground,” he added.
According to the patent application, folding the display at an angle of less than 180 degrees can even provide some protection. “The electronic device may include a release mechanism that works with the roller to automatically retract the foldable display onto the roller when the sensed vertical acceleration exceeds a predetermined acceleration threshold,” he added.
In addition to detailing the new technology, the listing on the USPTO website includes some schematics that suggest how the modifications would work.
Apple hasn’t revealed any details about the new patent or the release of an iPhone or iPad with a foldable display. The patented technologies may only be used for prototyping. All of these details should therefore be viewed with caution.
