After visiting Apple suppliers in China, a Bank of America Merrill Lynch analyst suggests that Apple is working on a foldable iPhone targeted at a 2020 release.
For Apple fanboys (and girls), this is an exciting rumor that many are likely to believe as there hasn’t been a competent folding phone on the market since the popular Motorola StarTAC that was released back in 1996. Lest we forget the rainbow version….
While both Samsung and Lenovo have demoed folding phones, Motorola has been dropping the hardest hints that a new phone may be on the horizon. Last October, a Korean media outlet reported that Apple was teaming up with LG, stating that Apple would order foldable OLED panels that could start production in 2020. The company is yet to comment on this.
A creation of a foldable iPhone would mean double the screen real estate in a smaller footprint, equaling more space for users and a shake up of the glass design that’s been present since the iPhones 2007 debut. Although companies such as Samsung and Lenovo have the money and technology to throw behind a foldable phone, Apple’s status as a mainstream leader could turn what may be considered a “niche” product into the next must-have.
The big question is – what would a foldable iPhone look like? Perhaps it will be created in the same vein as the ZTE Axon M, with two screens that open like a book and software that lets you go full screen. Maybe it will use two apps side-by-side and mirror the screen with the same app on both displays or it might take on an entirely new design such as a single, foldable internal screen that flexes and bends.
Whatever the design may be, to be a successful Apple product it needs to tick certain boxes. In its compact state, it will have to look familiar to an iPhone, be compatible with Face ID, allow Siri to be dual screen savvy and – ultimately – be better than what’s on the market today.
