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- The successors of the iPhone 13 could tell you when your screen is cracked and broken
What if Apple phones coming after the iPhone 13 could tell you when your screen got damaged or cracked? A recently published Apple patent reveals that the company has explored advanced displays capable of detecting screen damage through a "strain-sensing resistor" that aggregates strain measurements. Presumably, this would allow the phone to find cracks too small to notice and alert users to the damage before it escalates and could damage them or the phone's delicate internal components. The patent not only covers static displays, but also includes "flexible displays," which could include a foldable Apple phone like the so-called iPhone Flip, as AppleInsider noted. It's still unclear what kind of screen Apple would use in its own foldable, but since earlier devices in the niche like the original Samsung Galaxy Fold had screens more prone to scratches than phones with glass screens, detecting screen damage could be useful. We know Apple is concerned: a previous patent conceptualized a crack-preventing layer for foldable phone screens.
Apple Patent No. 11,087,670 showing a circuit design to detect cracks in a display (Image credit: Apple/USPTO) While future flat and foldable iPhones may be better suited for crack detection display technology given the frequency with which users damage phone screens, the patent doesn't limit its technology to just phones. In fact, it openly lists different product categories where such display technology could appear, such as computers and wristwatches. In other words, we were able to see everything from MacBook Pros and iMacs to Apple Watches and iPad bundles that automatically detect cracks that would be universally useful. There's no reason Apple shouldn't include it.
(Image credit: Avenir) However, that presupposes a lot of detection technology; We don't know if it would be as feasible to implement on a large 27-inch iMac screen as it is on the latest iPhones, which have a 6.7-inch screen. It would make sense to roll it out to Apple phones first, and then roll it out to its broader lineup. Finally, it would be fair for Apple to outperform its rivals in the display arena since it generally lags behind in mobile display technology; We only just got OLED screens in last year's iPhone 12 lineup, which is years after Samsung and other Android phone makers added them to their high-end phones. We don't expect Apple to implement crack detection any time soon, especially since this is the first time we've heard of it. The company is currently slowly upgrading its device displays to mini LEDs like on the 2021-inch 12,9 iPad Pro (and rumored 2021 MacBook Pro laptops), so crack detection could be next. display technology that is presented. next as the next unmissable advancement in Apple's lineup.