Apple has filed for a patent (number US 20230409082 A1) for “Films For Displays With Curved Surfaces.” The patent hints at an “iPhone Fold,” which I think is more likely than a foldable iPhone.
About the patent filing
In the patent filing, Apple says that if care isn’t taken, electronic devices with displays may not have a desired appearance or may be difficult to use satisfactorily. For example, displays may be bulky and unattractive or may not accommodate a desired electronic device shape. Apparently, Apple thinks a smartphone with a curved surface would be pretty nifty.
Summary of the patent filing
Here’s Apple’s abstract of the patent filing: “An electronic device may have a display overlapped by a display cover layer. Portions of the surface of the display and cover layer may have curved profiles. For example, a display cover layer may have transparent sidewall portions with curved surface profiles. The transparent sidewall portions of the display cover layer may include rounded corners having areas of compound curvature.
“A flexible display panel may be pressed over a mold to impart desired curvature (such as compound curvature) to the flexible display panel. To mitigate wrinkling in a flexible display panel molded to have compound curvature, a film may be included that absorbs force in the display panel. The film may have a coefficient of thermal expansion that is different than that of the display panel. Instead or in addition, the film may have portions with different Young’s modulus magnitudes or different thickness magnitudes.”
