If you're thinking of buying a flip phone, your biggest concern is probably its durability: Surely those fancy flexible phones can't survive too many bends before breaking, right?
Well, foldables have come a long way since the original Samsung Galaxy Fold, but it's clearly something Apple has looked into, and a new patent, spotted by PatentlyApple (opens in a new tab), shows a foldable phone with a few tricks durability.
This patent shows a foldable phone (different images show different form factors, so it's not clear if it's the iPhone Flip or some other purported device) with an extra layer on the screen that fills in micro-cracks that form due to folding. flexion.
These small cracks can develop into larger-scale screen cracks, and fixing the problem early reduces the chance of this happening. In theory, this technology could also be used for non-folding phone screens, though there's less risk of them cracking over time.
Analysis: Apple does what it does
Apple has a reputation for committing to new technology only when it knows it's ready. That's why it's often too late to follow trends, especially recently with 5G and high-refresh-rate displays.
The company is likely to take this approach for foldable phones as well. The first such device launched in 2019, and Apple's version probably won't be coming anytime soon, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, as the original Galaxy Fold had a bit of oomph. colliding in a variety of ways.
However, we are now a few generations into Samsung foldables, and the company has perfected its folding technology and released several high-performance devices, while Apple continues to play without showing anything. So perhaps in this case it's acting a bit too coy, though this patent suggests it's working on ways to ensure that its foldable phones, when they do come along, will be extremely durable.
We don't plan on adding the iPhone Flip to our list of the best iPhones any time soon, but hopefully, when they come along, they'll be worth it.