The foldable phone seemed like a neat trick but an unnecessary product until Samsung released their well-reviewed Z Fold3 last year. Apple usually plays follower to new phone trends until they figure out a commercially viable way to introduce the technology — and that’s proven once again by recent rumors that the tech giant is looking into an interesting new way to bring about their own foldable screen.
Per Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple is testing “E Ink’s Electronic Paper Display (EPD) for future foldable device’s cover screen & tablet-like applications.” The idea here seems to be that the e-ink would be a more limited display that users could use while the device is folded.
As 9to5Mac notes, Samsung’s two foldable designs do not use e-ink displays in any form, but the Galaxy Z Flip does feature a 1.9-inch OLED cover screen that simply displays time and notifications — a similarly small display by Apple could utilize a color e-ink surface (which also uses far less battery). The publication also notes that this isn’t the first time this year rumors of a foldable display have popped up around Apple: a folding iPad/MacBook hybrid could be in the works. As well, the company has several recent patents for foldable or flexible displays.
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