A newly-published patent filing has revealed that Apple is developing a protective layer to resist cracking on foldable displays, as well as improve scratch resistance and durability (via Patently Apple).
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office filing, titled "Hybrid coverlay/window structure for flexible display applications," outlines how curved, flexible, or foldable display modules could use a protective hardcoat layer to circumvent cracking. Apple appears to be seeking to remedy display cracking issues that have afflicted some Samsung devices.
The patent notes that "typically, glass fracture initiates from the presence of micro-cracks." Apple's hardcoat layer would fill pre-existing micro-cracks and therefore make it harder for a serious crack to develop.
The additional protective layer would be placed directly on top of the display. It would be "engineered to have a sufficiently high hardness and tensile strength to function as an exterior protective coating for the electronic device... Thus, the hardcoat layer is sufficiently durable for high puncture and scratch resistance."
Images attached to the patent included simple illustrations of foldable devices, with both inwardly and outwardly-foldable displays.
Although a foldable device from Apple does not seem to be on the horizon any time soon, the company has been heavily researching and developing the technology. In September, Apple reportedly ordered a "large number" of Samsung foldable display samples.
In 2019, Apple strengthened the glass on iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro, and this year with the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro, the company introduced Ceramic Shield. Ceramic Shield is a strengthened glass that reportedly improves drop performance by up to four times.
The patent therefore seems to show the intersection between Apple's separate research on glass durability and foldable displays.
I really love patent applications. Between the blocky edges, use of basic geometry, and weird composite perspective, they always look like they were made in MS Paint.
Wednesday April 17, 2024 9:58 am PDT by Juli Clover
Game emulator apps have come and gone since Apple announced App Store support for them on April 5, but now popular game emulator Delta from developer Riley Testut is available for download. Testut is known as the developer behind GBA4iOS, an open-source emulator that was available for a brief time more than a decade ago. GBA4iOS led to Delta, an emulator that has been available outside of...
Tuesday April 16, 2024 11:33 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
The first approved Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) emulator for the iPhone and iPad was made available on the App Store today following Apple's rule change. The emulator is called Bimmy, and it was developed by Tom Salvo. On the App Store, Bimmy is described as a tool for testing and playing public domain/"homebrew" games created for the NES, but the app allows you to load ROMs for any...
Tuesday April 16, 2024 6:54 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Last September, Apple's iPhone 15 Pro models debuted with a new customizable Action button, offering faster access to a handful of functions, as well as the ability to assign Shortcuts. Apple is poised to include the feature on all upcoming iPhone 16 models, so we asked iPhone 15 Pro users what their experience has been with the additional button so far. The Action button replaces the switch ...
Wednesday April 17, 2024 12:19 pm PDT by Juli Clover
A decade ago, developer Riley Testut released the GBA4iOS emulator for iOS, and since it was against the rules at the time, Apple put a stop to downloads. Emulators have been a violation of the App Store rules for years, but that changed on April 5 when Apple suddenly reversed course and said that it was allowing retro game emulators on the App Store. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel ...
iOS 18 is expected to be the "biggest" update in the iPhone's history. Below, we recap rumored features and changes for the iPhone. iOS 18 is rumored to include new generative AI features for Siri and many apps, and Apple plans to add RCS support to the Messages app for an improved texting experience between iPhones and Android devices. The update is also expected to introduce a more...
Top Rated Comments
If someone *needs* a larger screen they can use any flavour of iPad.