Everything we know about Apple’s new ‘iPhone Flip’ – and its plan for a foldable iPad
After quietly exploring the idea for more than a decade, Apple could finally enter the foldable phone market in 2026.
Rumor has it that a foldable iPad is also in development.
The long-awaited competitor to Samsung’s Galaxy Z, Motorola’s Razr Plus and Google’s Pixel Fold now even has a working title, insiders say: the iPhone Flip.
Apple’s design team has set ambitious goals for its entry into the crowded niche market for old-school foldable mobile devices, according to these sources, including a sturdy, high-resolution screen that faces outward when folded.
Reports this year indicate that the Cupertino-based tech giant has already contacted at least one component manufacturer in Asia to source parts for two sizes of the iPhone Flip, although there are no plans to release the device in 2024 or 2025 to mass produce.
Insiders say Apple’s long-rumored rival to Samsung’s Galaxy Z, Motorola’s Razr Plus and Google’s Pixel Fold now has a working title: the iPhone Flip. Above is a render from YouTuber ConceptsiPhone, who has been experimenting with foldable iPhone designs for years
Reports this year indicate that Apple has already contacted at least one component manufacturer in Asia to obtain parts for two sizes of the ‘iPhone Flip’, although there are no plans to mass-produce the device until 2024 or 2025 to take. Above is another recent rendering of ConceptsiPhone
Sources also suggested that Apple views a foldable iPad as a simpler technical feat and a less risky entry into the market, given the decline in iPhone sales.
The company sees an “iPad Flip” as a novelty that could gauge customer interest in the new designs before having to battle multiple flip-phone rivals on its home turf.
“Apple won’t release the product until they’re confident because they can’t afford to lose customers over an average device,” he said. Kaushik Bosean executive at Green Tiger Mobility who has been keeping a close eye on the foldable space.
“Manufacturers are uncertain about the longevity of foldable screens,” Bose noted in public comments on Quora.
“Nobody knows if these will actually last longer than one to two years,” the executive said, “as lines seem to be appearing in some of the old (1st generation) foldables.”
But a new Apple patent, published Thursday, indicates that the company is still hoping to realize its dreams for a unique and quintessentially Apple breakthrough in foldable mobile technology: a touchscreen beyond the fold.
The May 2, 2024 patent, titled “Electronic device with display and touch sensor structures,” proposed that the new device will have a “flexible transparent wall portion” and “opaque walls’ that allow interaction as ‘touch layers’.
The result could potentially be an echo of the early generations of the iPod.
Sources also suggested that Apple views a foldable iPad as a simpler technical feat and a less risky first entry into the market. Above is a recent render from ConceptsiPhone
But a new Apple patent, published Thursday, indicates that the company is still hoping to realize its dreams for a unique, quintessentially Apple breakthrough in foldable mobile technology: a touchscreen beyond the fold.
The May 2, 2024 patent, titled “Electronic device with display and touch sensor structures,” proposes that the device will have a “flexible transparent wall portion” as well as “opaque walls” that allow for interaction as well as “touch layers.” possibly like the first generations of the iPod
This latest patent lends credence to claims made by anonymous insiders on the tech news site The informationwhich claims that Apple secretly collaborated with South Korean flat-screen manufacturer LG and Samsung to prototype their foldable iPad.
According to their current and former Apple sources, the company’s industrial design team wants true razor thinness for the iPhone Flip, half as thick as current iPhones.
However, limitations in reducing battery size and internal touchscreen components have undermined these grand ambitions for years, they say.
Similarly, Apple has made a secret effort to design a foldable phone with an outward-facing screen that’s tough enough for everyday use.
A former Apple employee told the site Apple hardware engineers discovered that prototypes with an outward-facing screen ‘prone to breaking if dropped.’
An Apple patent titled ‘Flexible Display Devices’ filed on October 12, 2018 showed what appears to be a foldable phone. The patent shows a device that folds shut, similar to a flip phone, via a hinge in the center (above)
In one form factor, the screen is displayed in a triangular position, presumably allowing people sitting on either side of the screen to view the same content at the same time
Apple patents on ‘Flexible Display Devices’ date back more than a decade, with patents filed in 2011 and 2014.
One version of the patent, filed on October 12, 2018, showed a gaming or entertainment gimmick where the screen could be placed in a triangular position on a table – where presumably people on either side of the screen could view the same content. at the same time.
The patent states that such a device would use a flexible organic LED display.
“Flexible displays can be mounted on the case, overlapping the hinges,” the patent says.
‘If the housing parts in a device are rotated relative to each other, the flexible display can bend.’
“The hinge can be configured so that the flexible display can be placed in a front-to-front configuration, with the active side of the display facing itself, or in a back-to-back configuration.”
As with any patent, it is unclear whether Apple actually plans to develop a device with this feature.
An Apple spokesperson did not respond to DailyMail.com’s request for comment on the latest foldable patents, nor for comment on The Information’s February report.
In the early days of Apple’s flip phone rumors, Ben Wood, an analyst at CCS Insight, expressed the common view that there is “really no need” for Apple to get into the foldable market.
“You can be sure it has had flexible display technology in its labs for the last decade,” Wood told MailOnline.
“But right now there is no commercial need for Apple to risk entering a niche market when the iPhone is so incredibly successful.”