Imagine purchasing Apple’s first foldable phone and dropping it soon after. A new Apple patent reveals that future iPhones could come with the ability to self-repair, instead of having to head back to the store and paying the company to fix it.
Patently Apple revealed the company has officially published 51 new patents, covering self-healing properties for future mobiles.
The technology includes a layer of self-healing material that could cover the whole display, or just a specific region more likely to break.
Heat has been named as the primary source for self-healing. Other designs suggest light or some electrical current could also be used.
This could include “transparent conductors” that heat the display cover layer when the device is charging or when users activate it.
In practice, it’s been reported that these new patents would most benefit foldable phones.
There’s speculation that in the coming years, Apple could release a foldable phone, which would compete alongside the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold, and the Google Pixel Fold, among others.
Leaks suggest that Apple’s foldable could be called the “iPhone Flip,” and be released as early as 2025.
Even with improvements with each new model that surfaces, these devices are more prone to display issues, due to being thinner than traditional smartphones. Flexibility is also a challenge.
A self-repair concept was attempted in 2013, with LG introducing a self-healing backplate for its curved LG G Flex phone, designed to repair minor scratches over time.
