Foldable smartphones are yet to get caught on like other design styles but among the top manufacturers, Apple is perhaps the only brand that is yet to release a concept or real foldable smartphone. Samsung is in its third-gen models under the Galaxy Z Flip and Z Fold series.

Apple has filed several patents bordering on foldable phones showing that the company is working towards releasing its first foldable model. The patent filings show the foldable iPhone will feature a sliding body and a flexible screen.

Apple has now updated one of the design patents that had earlier been granted titled “Electronic devices having sliding expandable displays”. The update includes toning down some of the key details but throws more light on some other parts. The overall design remains the same.

In summary, the patent describes a folding iPhone which when expanded, reveals a previously hidden screen. “A portion of a flexible display may be stored in an interior region of the housing when the housing is in the unexpanded state,” Apple explains. “In the unexpanded state, the flexible display may have one or more bends and may double back on itself one or more times,” the patent description added.

It is possible that Apple is already working on a prototype that may have produced the data needed to alter the granted patent after testing. However, we can’t conclude that the company will utilize the sliding design on the final product.

Just like the previous foldable iPhone designs, this version is credited to three inventors. That includes Michael B. Wittenberg, whose other related work includes a proposal that such a folding iPhone could use geared hinges.

We can’t stay for sure when Apple will release a foldable iPhone. An earlier Bloomberg report had hinted that a foldable iPhone is still 2-3 years away.

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(source, via)

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