The long-heard rumors about Apple’s foldable iPhone, aka the iPhone Flip among the public, remained just a rumor in general. But now, an important step may have been taken towards making Apple’s anticipated foldable phone a reality.
At least that’s what Asian news site The Elec thinks, which has published a report on Apple’s production of a new type of OLED display. The new type is available without a polarizer, a layer designed to make the screen easier to see, and this change, which makes the screen thinner, makes it an ideal design for use on foldable phones, according to The Elec.
The technique of removing the polarizer is not new in screen production for foldable phones. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 used to use this type of screen and now manufactures Apple’s displays, Samsung Display, a different arm of Samsung from the group that makes Galaxy smartphones.
But that probably doesn’t mean that the iPhone Flip is about to be released. The fact that a news report says that Apple is making a folding screen should not be perceived as we can buy a foldable iPhone this year.
Other parts need to be designed as well, including the hinge, body, and components suitable for the handset’s bending structure. We also don’t know if these screens are for the finished product.
An important step in the creation of a phone is the research and design phase where numerous prototypes are built and tested to see which one works best. The new screens are made for test phones that will likely remain in Apple’s labs and never go on sale. So you don’t need to start saving for a foldable iPhone just yet.
But still, Apple’s push-button for foldable iPhone displays shows that it has a few outstanding prototypes it’s focusing on and may have completed the planning phase. In other words, we may be seeing a process in line with the rumored 2025 release date for the iPhone Flip.