With the success of the Samsung Z Flip and Z Fold smartphones, Apple look set to debut their own foldable, expected to be a clamshell, in 2023.
Interestingly, a number of patents seem to suggest the company has had this in their vision since 2016.
Word is that Apple will further mirror the Samsung story with two different models – one that will have the upper and lower sides meet, another that will meet left to right landscape style.
Further news filtering out is that Apple and Samsung are co-developing a foldable that will have a 7.5 inch (19.05cm) folding OLED panel.
Research company DSCC report that Samsung’s dominance in the foldout smartphone market is unlikely to drop below 75 per cent even after Apple enter it. The Apple foldable is believed to be more in line with the iPad.
For anyone thinking foldables may be just a gimmick, a report from Counterpoint Research and Strategy Analytics says they are estimated to shift 90 million units in 2023, rising to 100 million in 2025.
