Apple is building a folding iPhone with automatic scratch repair

For Apple, the iPhone next in the shape of the design is bound to usher in big changes, such as the display to remove the bangs, and then is to join the folding screen, at least from the current preparations, they are indeed so layout. According to U.S. media reports, Apple’s patent application for a folding screen has once again surfaced, and this time it is more special that the screen itself can “cure” the inevitable wear and tear.

It is said that in order to help reduce the number of dents, scratches or other defects in the display overlay, Apple has covered the display with a layer of self-healing material.

The flexible layer itself can “include a layer of elastomer,” which is a self-healing component. The elastomer is stretchable but can be restored to its original shape, an analogy being the memory foam in some mattresses. Often, this ability to return to its previous shape is triggered by heat, such as the body heat of a person sleeping on the mattress.

Alternatively, self-healing can be initiated or accelerated by externally applied heat, light, current, or other types of external stimuli, such as heat generated when an electronic device is charged.

As a protective layer for thin-film transistor circuits and other display structures, some layers will serve as the actual display, while others are intended to protect that screen, especially when it is bent and the device can be folded around the bending axis.

Prior to this, Apple’s patent application also showed that it was developing a foldable iPhone prototype that would have two separate display panels connected by a hinge, rather than just one screen like the Samsung Galaxy Fold. In other words, this new Apple model looks more similar to Microsoft’s Surface Neo and Surface Duo, both of which are foldable dual-display devices featuring two displays connected by a hinge.

The foldable iPhone is similar in design language to the current iPhone 11, with a rounded stainless steel frame and no “bangs”, but a “tiny forehead” on the outside of the display for Face ID.