Apple has long been rumored to be working on a foldable iPhone, but a new patent suggests that both stretchable and bendable displays may be in development for several future Apple products.
As noted by AppleInsider, the patent is simply called “Stretchable Display” and describes a screen that can wrap around different surfaces and shapes while still functioning like a standard OLED screen.
While the patent doesn’t name specific devices in Apple’s portfolio, it could potentially be used for a number of them. For example, imagine a HomePod with a display that curves around the top of the speaker.
The patent is notable for the number of inventors associated with it: 55 instead of the usual 10 or so. But as always with patents, this is only an indication of what a company is spending time researching. There is no guarantee that we will ever see this technology in a real product.
How this can be used
We’ve already mentioned how a future HomePod could have a display that extends and wraps around the device, and such a display could also be used in a foldable iPhone – allowing the phone to have a wraparound screen on the outside, as previously rumored.
Then there is the Apple Watch. The Apple Watch 10 would involve some design tweaks, but a future model could have a screen that wraps completely around the wrist (Apple has even filed patents hinting at this in the past).
The patent mentions telephones and watches, but also laptops, smart glasses, virtual reality headsets and kiosk and car displays. This is clearly a technology that could find a place in many Apple products if development continues.
That development will likely take several years, so we won’t see it appear in the iPhone 16. However, don’t be surprised if future Apple devices, such as an all-screen MacBook, come with screens that can both stretch and fold.