Apple is looking into building a rollable iPhone
Still waiting for that foldable iPhone? Perhaps we’re getting a rollable iPhone instead.
Apple has been awarded a patent for a smartphone with a rollable display (via Patently Apple). The patent, filed in Nov. 2022 and published on Thursday, describes an electronic device with a display that “may be moved between an unrolled state in which the display is planar and a rolled state in which a rollable portion of the display is rolled up for storage.”
The patent mentions using a “locally thinned” glass layer in the rollable portion, as well as a display configured in such a way that the “compressive stress in the outwardly facing glass surface may help prevent damage to the display when the display is bent.”
While the patent talks about electronic devices with displays in general, it also specifically mentions portable devices such as smartphones.
We know rollable displays are very much possible; LG has been on the forefront of this niche with a rollable OLED TV, as well as a rollable phone that came very close to launching but ultimately never saw the light of day. Motorola also showcased a few rollable phone concepts, as did Oppo, but neither company ever launched such a phone to a wide audience.
Apple, however, is typically far more cautious when introducing such technologies into its widely available products. The fact that the company has a patent for devices with rollable displays at least gives hope that a rollable iPhone or iPad may happen in the future, but we wouldn’t bet on it happening very soon.
