After Samsung has launched its opening salvo for its foldable smartphones, it may only be a short while before the $2 trillion tech giant joins in the fray and presents its own Apple foldable smartphones.
According to leaks posted by a user named “Ice Universe” on Chinese social media site Weibo, Apple apparently has ordered a large number of foldable displays for mobile devices. According to reports, Samsung will be set to supply exclusively to Apple for a year.
In a follow-up tweet, Ice Universe also stated that Apple is open to under-screen and foldable smartphone designs in an effort to steer away from the camera notch system currently used in iPhones.
The leaks aren’t the first time that speculation that Apple was working on a foldable iPhone to up against phones Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold2 and Galaxy Z Flip have come to light. Rumors of such a phone date back to 2017 when Apple was set to collaborate with LG for a foldable iPhone. The following year, more rumors pointed to the foldable iPhone launching in 2020.
An article posted by Apple patent monitoring blog Patently Apple last May confirmed that Apple has in fact filed for and was granted a patent for a foldable device which may be the earliest look we have of their prototype foldable smartphone.
Based on the filed patent, there is a possibility that Apple might go for a foldable smartphone combining features from the Galaxy Z Fold2 and TCL’s dual hinged prototype phone, the latter of which is essentially a smartphone that has two foldable regions but also folds inwards.
Should the leaks prove true, then this wouldn’t the first time that the rival companies have “worked together.” Back in 2019, Samsung supplied OLED screens to Apple during the development of the iPhone XS, XS Max and succeeding units.
Another leaker from twitter named Jon Prosser also dropped hints about Apple’s next-gen smartphone. In a series of tweets, he explained that the “foldable” iPhone isn’t exactly foldable but is made up of two separate display panels similar to that of the Microsoft Surface Duo but has no notch. He later clarified in a separate tweet that the design is far off from two iPhones that are hinged together as the extended panels show a ‘seamless’ and continuous display.
In other news, Apple is set to hold a launch event on the 15th of September where the new iPhone 12, a new Apple Watch, the latest iteration of the iPad with the introduction of the iPad Air, the latest update on the AirPods, a HomePod and the introduction of a subscription service named Apple One are all set to be unveiled to the public.
Whether or not Apple will finally show off a foldable iPhone at the September 15 “Time Flies” Apple event is unknown. Even if they don’t reveal it, the recent leaks indicate that the foldable might see the light of day sometime next year, if not in 2022.