Personally, I don’t think Apple will release a foldable display; I think they’re a fad that will pass. But I could be wrong.
Apple has filed for various patents for such a device, including a new one (number 20220270522) for “electronic devices with deformation-resistant displays.”
About the patent filing
The patent filing involves an electronic device (most likely an iPhone) that’s resistant to distortion and disfigurement due to contact by a finger, stylus, or other external object. And its screen could be a foldable display may have a display cover layer and display panel that bend around a bend axis.
Summary of the patent filing
Here’s Apple’s abstract of the patent filing with lots of technical details: “A flexible display in a foldable electronic device may have a display cover layer and display panel that bend around a bend axis. The display panel may have an array of pixels configured to display an image through the display cover layer. The pixels may be formed from thin-film display circuitry that is supported by a flexible display panel substrate.
“The flexible substrate may be supported by a display support plate that bends about the bend axis. The display may be configured to allow attachment of the display panel substrate to the display support plate while helping to prevent undesired localized deformation of the thin-film display circuitry.”
