Crucial WWD Week For Apple Double Fold iPhone/iPad Device & New Software Tipped

This week is shaping up to be a crucial week for Apple with the Companies World Wide Developer Conference set to open tomorrow in the US with some speculating that Apple could reveal a unique foldable phone come tablet device.

A patent submitted by the company, shows a double folding screen that can either be bent back on itself or folded inward from either end.

Instead of the focus being on the iPhone Apple is expected to be on the Companies iOS, apps and even health care.

Opening the event will be Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook who is facing the loss of iPhone market share which represents more than 60% of the Companies revenues following a trade ban introduced by the US administration.

Among the new products will be Apple Watches that are not reliant on iPhones, iPads also set to be revealed is new augmented reality and personal health-care management systems according to people familiar with the plans.

The hottest discussion is tipped to be around an Apple folding phone that patents reveal has a double folding screen that can either be bent back on itself or folded inward from either end allowing it to be used as a full tablet.

Apple contend that the device can not only fold once but twice.

The US patent includes 37 drawings covering different technical features and folding configurations.

The diagrams detail how the folding mechanism will work and states it is a hinge which rotates to allow the screen to fold together.

It will be able to go from a 180-degree angle to 90-degree angle, it claims.

Another diagram shows that the screen can be folded backwards so that it wraps around the ‘back’ of the device.

In this form, the screen forms a triangle, and two people seated on either side of the folded display could view the same content when it is balanced on two edges.

Last year, a prototype of an iPhone that folds in the middle like a book was submitted by Apple although no folding devices have been officially announced

Apple is also desperately trying to hold onto PC market share with current Apple hardware users complaining that their software fails to deliver and that their hardware is slow.

The Company is also facing new competition from a surging Acer who has harnessed their PC gaming knowledge to deliver a seriously top end range of powerful Creative PC’s called Concept D with significantly outperform Apple’s current PC offerings.

The company also plans new iPad enhancements around the home screen and new features around using multiple apps at once to help the iPad satisfy more of your computing needs.

Developers will get new tools to build iOS apps for Mac laptops and desktop computers, essentially unifying Apple’s app ecosystem.

This follows last year’s rollout of iPad versions of Apple’s News, Voice Memos, Home, and Stocks apps on the Mac.

The expectation is that single versions of all apps will eventually be able to run on every Apple device. As part of the shift, more underlying technologies will also merge.

End of iTunes

At the weekend Apple announced the end of iTunes which has been the way Apple users listen to music, watch movies and TV shows, hear podcasts, and manage their devices for almost two decades.

This year, Apple is finally ready to move into a new era.

The company is launching a trio of new apps for the Mac – Music, TV, and Podcasts – to replace iTunes. That matches Apple’s media app strategy on iPhones and iPads. Without iTunes, customers can manage their Apple gadgets through the Music app.

Health
Health care has become a fundamental part of many Apple products.
For this year, beyond the revamped Health app for iPhones, the company will push into monitoring hearing health – how loud the external environment is and how loud you’re playing sound on your device or headphones.

It also plans more comprehensive menstrual cycle tracking on iPhones, and a pair of health apps for the Apple Watch: menstrual cycle tracking and pill reminders. There will also be a new Sleep Mode for Apple mobile devices and better support for hearing aids.