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It is extremely unlikely that you will see a "collapsible" iPhone anytime soon, let alone in September, when Apple will probably launch the next generation of its popular phones.

But 2020 could be another story.

On Valentine's Day, or a little less than a week before his rival Samsung does introduce a new foldable Galaxy phone, Apple has filed an update for an existing patent display flexible suggesting that the company is actively advancing on its own work on such models that could allow you. turn an iPhone into an iPad.

Samsung foldable screen in traditional phone mode. (Photo11: Screen Capture)

Apple has not yet responded to a request for comment made by USA TODAY.

The next collapsible version of Samsung is not exactly a kept secret. South Korea The technology giant presented its prototype at a developer conference last November and recently commented on the likely appearance of the flexible phone at a media event in San Francisco Wednesday in a video called "The Future Unfolds".

Why foldable?

The idea is that such a flexible screen would allow you to use the device in the same way that you use a traditional phone, that is to say up to you unfold it so that the screen takes the size of a tablet. If rumors come true, in its folded form, Samsung will have a 4.6-inch screen. The unfolded display should exceed 7 inches.

The device must still be publicly named or must receive a prize.

Phone innovation: Foldable phone, 5G, Galaxy S10: dispel rumors before the event without Samsung's packaging

Later this month, at the Mobile World Conference in Barcelona, ​​foldable phones, as well as emerging handsets leveraging emerging 5G networks, will be all the rage. Companies such as the Chinese Huawei and Xiaomi should focus on their own foldable phone designs.

Apple's latest patent application includes 24 drawings that show how to fold future devices. And these future devices could include iPads or Mac laptops, as well as iPhones.

In one drawing, the product is folded like a pyramid, suggesting that two people sitting in front of each other could see their own screen while participating in a game or looking at another content.

Some important words of caution. Technology companies often file patents on ideas that never see the light of day. Apple, in particular, is also extremely discreet. It is not because such concepts are revealed in a patent that the features they suggest resemble the final products that are finally published.

Email: [email protected]; Follow @edbaig on Twitter.

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Will consumers switch to a foldable phone? Samsung seems to have solved the problems of its widespread foldable phone and could unveil such a phone later this year, according to a Korean report.
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