What’s next with smartphones? Now that everybody has one, that question is bedeviling manufacturers. Some think it’s new sensors, others endless upgrades, but for Apple, more and more the answer appears to be a smartphone you can fold up.
Patently Apple has some interesting dots to connect with what Apple’s made public. It looks like the company is working on a case that twists, with strain sensors warning you when you’re twisting it too far. And, just as interestingly, a major Apple supplier just rolled out a bendable plastic LED screen that, while not as flexible as OLED screens, still has Apple fans buzzing.
It’s unlikely the next iPhone will fold like a book, but there are some practical reasons to incorporate flexible screens into non-bendy phones, not the least of which is that flexible screens can take far more abuse. And patents are not statements of intent, as sometimes it’s just a company covering its bases against competitors working on similar products. Still, the frequency of the patents, and that one of Apple’s best suppliers is hard at work on bendier screens, raises a few eyebrow, and makes us wonder just what Apple might have in store over the next few years.
(Via The Daily Dot)