Rollable and pullout displays are the next frontiers for smartphone manufacturers
But Apple is reportedly working on another different form factor. Yesterday, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) published a patent application by Apple called “Electronic Devices Having Sliding Expandable Displays.” Such expandable displays seem to be the next frontier for smartphone manufacturers as companies like Samsung and Xiaomi have received patents for phones with rollable or pullout displays.
Image from Apple’s patent Electronic Devices Having Sliding Expandable Displays.
Apple’s new patent application includes a cross-section of a rollable iPhone. Inside the phone, the screen bends around a roller place inside the device. Apple notes in the patent application that “A portion of a flexible display may be stored in an interior region of the housing when the housing is in the unexpanded state. In the unexpanded state, the flexible display may have one or more bends and may double back on itself one or more times.”
Unlike a foldable phone, a rollable or pullout handset does not need a hinge
Apple prefers using one foldable battery as opposed to using two separate rigid batteries for a foldable iPhone because it will be able to pack a larger capacity battery into the device. Additionally, the use of a foldable battery provides what Apple calls “mechanical flexibility” to the device.
