Apple is still considering releasing a mobile device with a screen that incorporates a flexible section in the middle, allowing the device to bend without breaking.
On Tuesday, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted a patent for “Electronic devices with flexible displays”. This patent was originally filed on June 8, 2016, and the document details how the device would function and outlines the use of multiple flexible elements in the middle of the device. This will allow the device to feature one cohesive display, instead of using two with a noticeable line in the middle.
When the screen is folded, an area of the screen will be thinned on the display layer. To ensure the display is not affected, the recess area in the middle will be filled with “elastomeric material, fluids and other materials.”
Some sections of the phone will be covered with solid inflexible glass, with a flexible covering spanning the gap. The rest of the device will, of course, also require flexible materials and could even feature a hinge in the middle.
This latest patent is just one of a number of patents Apple has filed over the years in their strive to design such a device. We reported on this in 2015, early 2017 and late 2017.
