Apple registers patent for future foldable and bendable iPhone

Apple has long been known for setting electronic gold standards. The tech giant even makes money out of its innovative patents that rivals can only copy. And now the company is brewing something that may change the landscape of the industry yet again: a foldable and bendable phone.

According to Patently Apple, the Cupertino-based company has been granted rights to a new patent involving a foldable phone concept. This basically backs the rumours that have been making rounds for three years now, suggesting that Apple will be releasing a foldable iPhone in the future. The patent can only mean that the company seriously intends to turn the concept into reality.

The new patent was awarded to Apple on Tuesday after filing for it back in August. According to Patently Apple, the iPhone maker was able to keep the patent registration process a secret by using a company engineer’s name. The finalised patent is under the iPhone name instead of the usual “electronic device” reference and illustrates various layouts of the Apple smartphone’s present structure.

The patent also provided details on the material components that could be utilised for the housing of the future iPhone. The phone’s framework would probably be made of aluminium, ceramic, glass or plastic. All of those are actually used on the current model as well. The main highlight of the new patent, though, would be the usage of carbon nanotubes, which will allow the Apple flagship phone to be literally folded.

Rival company Samsung has previously sought similar phone concepts. The South Korean electronics mammoth has patented several foldable phone designs before but has failed to come up with a working model. And even though Apple has been awarded with the new patent, a foldable iPhone is not to be expected in the near future. Such a concept could take years to implement, and even then, it does not guarantee for an actual product to be released.

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