Apple’s early foldable exploration followed Samsung’s work on two foldable phone designs, placing Apple in a market where folding displays were already becoming a handset-design battleground. The fingerprint-reader testing suggests Apple was evaluating a separate change to how users unlock and authenticate on future iPhones.
Apple’s hardware teams must assess both foldable-display reliability and an in-screen fingerprint reader as potential changes to the iPhone’s physical design and authentication approach.
Samsung faces the prospect of Apple becoming a direct foldable-phone rival, though Apple’s work is explicitly preliminary at this stage.
Second-order effects
Apple’s later supplier outreach turns foldable development into a component-planning issue for Asian suppliers, not solely an internal product-design exercise.
The reported iPad-like interface for the inner display shifts the challenge beyond hardware: Apple must adapt iPhone software for larger, side-by-side app layouts.
Third-order effects
If Apple brings the design to market, foldables would become a software-category decision as much as a screen-format decision, with app layouts differentiating devices that share similar folding hardware.
The progression from experimentation to prototypes and supplier engagement points to a longer product-development cycle in which established smartphone makers validate foldables before committing their ecosystems to the format.
The trend: Foldable smartphones are evolving from display experiments into ecosystem products whose value depends on component supply, durability, and software built for expanded screens.
(2) The thickness will determine the foldable radius. Thicker glass can be used with the seam laser processed (see LPKF) but it currently changes the appearance of the glass. Apple/Corning working on foldable glass isn't a surprise, but use of ceramic shield is a good update.
There's a few scenarios where Face ID is subpar. One = masks, and another is when my iPhone is sitting flat on my desk. I feel like I always lean over the top of the phone in an exaggerated fashion to ensure that it actually unlocks. Having the option of Touch ID would be great.
For an “S” year, there are two rumored “iPhone 13” features that I would really value: in-screen Touch ID as a supplementary option to Face ID, and ProMotion for a variable refresh rate up to 120Hz.
@jon_prosser reported that Apple is working on a foldable version of chemically strengthened ceramic shield. Samsung's foldables already use chemically strengthened glass from SCHOTT. Will be interesting to see how thin ceramic shield glass can be made. (1)
I stand by my belief that the only people in the world who want a foldable smartphone are tech bloggers so they can write scoops about them. https://twitter.com/...
No one should be surprised. Consumers like fast, under-display sensors, and foldables are the future. Don't confuse this with Apple selling this in 2021. https://twitter.com/...
@gogojira_ Try Galaxy Z Flip and you'll get it. 1. Less room/easier to fit in pocket (an issue many women face due to clothing design) 2. Screen is protected in transit 3. Can create smaller devices w/larger screens; or normal devices w less space Either way, Apple will do it. ht…
NEW: Apple is considering launching a foldable iPhone while it tests an in-screen fingerprint scanner for this year's models and readies new iPads https://www.bloomberg.com/...
New story: Apple has begun early work on foldable iPhone screens to rival Samsung. The next-gen iPhone is an “S” year model with an in-screen fingerprint scanner in testing. Also coming: new iPad Pro with MiniLED and thinner/lighter entry-level iPad. https://www.bloomberg.com/...
I can't wait to hear from those who currently think devices with foldable/dual displays are dumb suddenly shift positions when this happens. I'll tee it up for you: “Yeah, but Apple did it right!” Sarcasm aside, this is the future of mobile tech. https://twitter.com/...