Some companies feel like foldable displays are the future of smartphones (and other devices). Others may feel the same, even if they haven’t already jumped on the bandwagon.
But gearing up for the inevitable future may be par for the course, and testing is an essential part of preparation. As a result, Apple may be ready to start trialing smartphones with foldable displays. That’s based on a post on the Chinese social network Weibo (via MacRumors), posted by serial leaker “Ice Universe”. According to the post, Apple has requested a “large number” of samples for Samsung’s foldable mobile phone displays.
The report states that Samsung will be loaning the samples for the duration of a year. During that time, Apple will test the displays in a variety of designs for future smartphones. Now, it should not come as a surprise that Apple would be testing something like this. Foldable phones are seeing quite a bit of attention. However, just because Apple is testing and trialing the design doesn’t mean it will ever come to fruition.
Or, at the very least, not any time soon.
Still, there are rumors (and concepts!). In August of 2019 there was a report that said Apple would launch a “folding product” as early as 2021. The best estimate is a foldable iPhone. And let’s not forget that in March of last year, Samsung was providing samples of its foldable displays for smartphones to Apple and other companies. It’s possible that, during the course of 2019, Apple developed some ideas for a foldable iPhone. Now, with this latest report, Apple could actually be moving forward with something.
Samsung has worked with Apple for quite some time now, especially in providing OLED displays for iPhone models. That trend will continue with the iPhone 12 lineup as well. And, considering how many foldable phones Samsung already has on the market right now, it’s an easy expectation that Apple will tap Samsung for folding screens, too.
But, we may still be a ways away from a foldable iPhone. What do you think? Will you be one of the first to adopt a foldable iPhone if Apple launches one?