- 2015 — retractable cover screen for active phone protection
- 2017 — retractable display, the predecessor of this latest patent
And now, in 2023, history repeats itself, but this time the screen is described as “flexible”. Said display will then be capable of being folded up in two tube-esque rollers, which would serve both as extra protection and as a means to make it more compact.That being said, Apple does submit thousands of patents each year, so this doesn’t exactly mean that we can expect the next iPad to be a rollable. This may very well be just a case of refreshing and updating a patent, which the company would like to keep.
Some of the example graphics, as seen in this latest patent.
In the patent’s description, Apple mentioned devices like phones, tablets and watches. While the document focuses on describing a true rollable display, foldable displays are also mentioned in passing, with the ultimate inspiration here being a more durable screen.
That being said, rollable screens are already a thing. Motorola already showcased a concept phone with a seemingly functioning rollable screen. Oppo also already showcased a phone with a similar concept.
Furthermore, even before that, some brainiacs from the Queen’s University in Ontario already nailed the concept in 2018. In fact, they did so with an iPad no less and the resulting prototype is the image you saw on this article’s header.
While we’re waiting around for more awesome patents to surface, like this one courtesy of AppleInsider, we’re certainly keeping our eyes open for the first company to actually release a rollable phone. Will 2023 be the year? At this point, why not!
