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.
Thursday January 16, 2025 6:45 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today adjusted estimated trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models in the U.S., according to its website.
Some values increased, while others decreased. The changes were not too significant, with most values rising or dropping by $5 to $50.
We have outlined some examples below:
Device
New Value
Old Value
iPhone 15 Pro Max
Up to $630
U ...
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iOS 19 is still around six months away from being announced, but a new leak has allegedly revealed a completely redesigned Camera app.
Based on footage it obtained, YouTube channel Front Page Tech shared a video showing what the new Camera app will apparently look like, with the key change being translucent menus for camera controls. Overall, the design of these menus looks similar to...
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Apple provided the third beta of iOS 18.3 to developers today, and while the betas have so far been light on new features, the third beta makes some major changes to Notification Summaries and also tweaks a few other features.
Notification Summary Changes
Apple made multiple changes to Notification Summaries in response to complaints about inaccurate summaries of news headlines.
For...
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Apple on late Saturday removed TikTok from the App Store in the U.S., and it has now explained why it was required to take this action.
Last year, the U.S. passed a law that required Chinese company ByteDance to divest its ownership of TikTok due to potential national security risks, or else the platform would be banned. That law went into effect today, and companies like Apple and Google...
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While the so-called "iPhone 17 Air" is not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the "ultra-thin" device.
Overall, the "iPhone 17 Air" is shaping up to be a mixed bag. Due to its thinness, the device is expected to have some limited specifications compared to the iPhone 17 Pro models, including only a single rear camera, only a single speaker, no SIM...
Friday January 17, 2025 3:38 pm PST by Juli Clover
For the last several months, we've been hearing rumors about a redesigned version of the iPhone 17 that Apple might call the iPhone 17 "Air," or something along those lines. It's going to replace the iPhone 17 Plus as Apple's fourth iPhone option, and it will be offered alongside the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max.
We know the iPhone 17 Air is going to be super slim, but...
Friday January 17, 2025 5:30 am PST by Joe Rossignol
2025 promises to be quite a big year for Apple, with the company rumored to be planning more than 20 product announcements this year.
Apple's rumored smart home hub will be its second all-new product to launch in as many years, following the Apple Vision Pro headset last year. And of course, we will get several new iPhone and Apple Watch models, like every year. Beyond that, Apple could...
The iPhone 17 lineup will feature a vapor chamber heatsink to improve thermal performance, according to a new report.
The news comes from Chinese tech news site MyDrivers, which claims that the entire iPhone 17 lineup, consisting of the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max, will adopt the improved thermal heat spreader.
Vapor chamber technology is already used...
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.
