Foldable iPhone Gets Concept Video Treatment In Aftermath Of Galaxy Fold Launch
On Wednesday, the Samsung Galaxy Fold made its debut alongside the flagship Galaxy 10 line, finally confirming a plethora of rumors that had teased the device ahead of its announcement. While it’s far too early to tell whether the Galaxy Fold will help take foldable handsets to the mainstream, a recently updated patent suggested last week that Apple might have plans of releasing its own foldable device, as reported by The Inquisitr. That patent included a number of schematic drawings illustrating how the product could work, but a new video has taken things further by depicting a concept version of a foldable iPhone and showing how it could work.
The video was shared on Friday by the ConceptsiPhone YouTube account and, as explained by Foldable News, featured the work of Dutch industrial designer and product developer Roy Gilsing, who came up with a concept device dubbed the “iPhone X Fold.” With Foldable News providing the suggested design, Gilsing’s concept foldable iPhone features an inner display with a 3:2 aspect ratio and an outer display with a 3:1 aspect ratio. This allows users to toggle between using the device in iPhone or iPad mode, with the option to activate a touchscreen keyboard in the latter mode so that users could operate the device like a “mini-notebook.”
“It would be so cool to hold an iPad-size screen in your pocket. And it’s really convenient to make calls and chat with a long style phone,” Gilsing commented.
Is #Apple working on a foldable #iPhone? https://t.co/vN33uAhaTk pic.twitter.com/yZyYn7o9YF
— The Week UK (@TheWeekUK) February 22, 2019
While the concept iPhone X Fold shares some similarities with the Samsung Galaxy Fold, BGR offered a critical take on the theoretical device, saying that a lot of what was shown in the video “looks cool,” but also remarking that some of the ideas depicted seemed “pointless” or overly “ambitious.” As such, the outlet opined that the concept is still too implausible for it to become an actual Apple device in the near future.
As for Apple’s updated foldable iPhone patent, BGR also cautioned readers not to expect too much, as the company regularly files patents describing products that ultimately don’t get released to consumers.
Despite the above disclaimer, there might still be a chance that Apple will try to compete against the Galaxy Fold with a foldable iPhone of its own. As reported in March 2018 by CNBC, Bank of America analyst Wamsi Mohan wrote in a note to clients that Apple is “working with suppliers” on a foldable device with potential iPhone and iPad functionality and targeting a 2020 launch for the rumored product.
