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Apple is all into exploring the usage of flexible displays to make convex units, based on a new Apple patent filing revealed.
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The application titled “Electronic devices with convex displays” was filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and builds an image of how an Apple convex-shaped device may work.
Apple devices similar to iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro have curved edges, and the patent explains that such “conventional arrangements” where “only the proportions of the device other than the display have a convex shape… may limit the internal volume of the device and detract from its appearance.”
The convex device envisioned within the patent would have a front face and a rear face, with the display stretching seamlessly from one side to the opposite. The two remaining uncovered edges would permit access to the interior housing.
The filing explains that the fundamental benefit of a convex device could be maximizing the interior volume, making more space out there for the battery, for instance.
Crucially, a convex device is facilitated by means of a flexible display unit. Unlike other uses of flexible displays, like for foldable units, the patent suggests mounting a flexible display to a rigid body or frame.
The display would due to this fact completely conform to the curved form of the body. This would make flexible displays, that are in any other case recognized for their lack of sturdiness, significantly more hardwearing.
In addition to a flexible display, the patent refers to different flexible layers constructed across the body.
Another area of interest for Apple is that a convex device might potentially be more aesthetically pleasing.
The patent explains that since customers “may find a thinner device more desirable than a thicker device,” a “convex housing shape may increase the internal volume of a device while preserving a sleek, thin look that is aesthetically pleasing.”
Though units with flexible displays have come to market as foldable smartphones, there has not been a commercial convex device of this type before.
Apple has been granted patents previously for versatile OLED displays, foldable units, and units made out of a single sheet of glass, and the area is a clear interest for the tech giant.
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