Apple’s foldable iPhone project could be on pause, due to display issues
Screen problems rumored
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It’s been quite a while since we heard anything of note about afoldable iPhone, and now we might have a reason why: the project is apparently on pause for the time being, asApplecan’t find a folding display that it’s satisfied with.
As perFixed Focus Digitalon Chinese social network Weibo (viaMacRumors), Apple has been busy researching and testing screens that bend in the middle, but hasn’t been able to find one that meets whatever the required standard is for a foldable iPhone.
It’s thought thatSamsungis one of the manufacturers that hassupplied folding displaysto Apple, but for whatever reason, it’s not passing the tests. Samsung of course makes its own foldable phones, most recently theGalaxy Z Fold 5andGalaxy Z Flip 5.
Whether Apple isn’t happy with the aesthetics or the durability of the display – or both – isn’t immediately clear. What’s more, while this tipster is a well-known tech vlogger, they haven’t previously offered any Apple leaks, so bear that in mind.
The waiting game
The sheernumber of rumorsthat we’ve seen around an iPhone Fold suggest that a device of this kind must be in development somewhere at Apple, although whether it’s ever going to see the light of day remains to be seen.
Apple has traditionally been happy to let the likes of Samsung introduce new mobile technologies before adding them to its own handset – like fingerprint sensors and wireless charging – and it seems that it’ll be no different with folding displays.
Another possibility is that Apple willintroduce a folding iPadbefore a folding iPhone, but there’s a lot of uncertainty around that device too. It would definitely be larger, which may make it easier to develop a display that Apple is happy with.
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Go and take a peek at ourGoogle Pixel Fold reviewto see what some of the benefits of folding phones are, even if you have to pay a significant amount of money to get hold of them. For a while at least, it seems Apple won’t be joining the part.
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Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on TechRadar you’ll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, PopSci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.
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