It’s no secret that Apple works in parallel with the rest of the industry on foldable devices. However, the company still has nothing to announce, leaving competition such as Samsung, Huawei and Motorola to face the problems of the first generations. However, we may see an Apple foldable sooner than we normally would expect, with new information suggesting that the US manufacturer has ordered two prototypes of foldable devices from Foxconn, one of its Taiwanese partners.
Apple has filed several patents on foldable mobile devices over time. However, until now I had no idea where they could go. However, it seems that Apple will not “revolutionize” this category of products, if any of these prototypes will reach the market. At least not in terms of design.
Apple is inspired by the competition for the first prototypes of foldable phones
According to United Daily News, Apple has requested a prototype similar to the Galaxy Z Flip under construction, which can be folded vertically, in clamshell format. This could be a first foldable iPhone, which could possibly replace the iPhone Mini model in the offer. It would have the advantage of small size when folded, but could also provide a large screen for photos or videos, watching movies and running games when fully open. Currently, the iPhone 12 Mini is a phone that seems too small for such activities, while the battery is not at the level of larger models.
However, the second prototype could be a kind of foldable device with two screens, not very different in concept with Microsoft’s Surface Duo. It’s not even the first time we’ve talked about an Apple device with two screens, and this could be the company’s preferred option, at least until foldable screen technology is improved.
It is quite clear that Apple wants to avoid using screens with fragile plastic protections and probably its designers do not appreciate the fact that there is an obvious stripe in the area where today’s models are folded. The use of two screens could bring a device more oriented towards portable productivity, being somehow a device positioned somewhere between an iPhone and an iPad. Traditionally, this space was occupied by the iPad Mini, which in recent years has not received many hardware updates, however.
The launch of a foldable model from Apple could come as early as 2022, but it is very possible that it will be delayed even longer.
