New Apple patent stocks rumours of foldable iPhone

A newly published Apple patent application helps fuel claims that the tech giant is working on releasing a foldable iPhone. According to the patent published by the US Patent & Trademark Office, it describes the device as: “An electronic device may have a flexible portion that allows the device to be folded. The device may have a flexible display. The flexible display may have a bending region that allows the display to bend along a bend axis when the device is folded.”

The rumours about Apple working on a device with a foldable display have been around since last year. Some claim Apple will be working with LG. Just last month, a report says Apple was planning to invest in an LG plant to help produce the foldable display. The reports mention the use of an OLED panel. The patent application though covers everything from LCD, OLED, to microLED. And while this patent shows us the possibility of a foldable iPhone being in our future. It must be noted still that Apple patents a lot of things that don’t see the light of day.

Source: 9to5Mac

Apple patent wants to turn iPhone’s backlight into a light beacon of sorts for runners

Apple has a couple of ideas we may or may not see in future iterations of the iPhone: turning the backlight into a safety light for runners or as a party trick of sorts to synchronize with music. The company filed a patent in May and was just published today with the title “Handheld devices as visual indicators.” As a party accessory, the filing describes that the light being transmitted can be configured with the playlists on the device and it’ll vary the “light level transmitted by the display in accordance with the song being played.” It could be a fun thing to play around with but, of course, expect it to be a battery drain.

The other feature is a bit more functional and useful for those who like going on night runs or walks. The backlight can be used to serve as a light beacon to alert cars and other pedestrians of your presence. The light can either blink, fade in and out, strobe, or pulsate. While useful, we can’t say yet if this will even make its way to Apple devices. A lot of the patents the company applies for don’t make it to the actual products. And we don’t know yet if the patent itself will be approved. What do you think? Is this a feature you’d want? There are third-party apps for this purpose already, if you are.

Source: The Verge

Apple patent looks to be taking on Bitmoji

UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE

Looks like it isn’t just Facebook who’s taking cues from Snapchat. Apple looks to be creating an “avatar editing environment” which has a design an editing process that looks so eerily similar to Bitmoji. To be fair, the patent was filed back in 2011 but we can’t help compare the similarities. With Apple upping the game on its iMessage service, perhaps it’ll make sense for them to develop more features for it—including a 3D avatar model. As seen in some diagrams, it shows you can edit everything from hair color, eye color, skin color, etc. Based on the patent, though, it just won’t be used for chatting. It could also have applications in gaming, eye-tracking, and responsive action. Think of it as something you can use in virtual reality.

We don’t know if Apple will make use of the feature but there is a sense of ridiculousness in trying to patent this kind of feature. Bitmoji isn’t exactly new. Plus, if you remember avatar creation has been around for a while. Yahoo Avatar, anyone? Either way, let’s see what Apple decided to do with this.

Source: CNN + Mashable

Apple obtains patent for bendable iPhone

Patents don’t usually translate into products but sometimes they do and certain ideas we want to see implemented—like this new patent Apple has recently been granted. The design in the patent shows what could be the basis for a foldable iPhone. Apple applied for the patent back in July 2014 and features a flexible organic light-emitting diode (OLED) screen that is reminiscent of clamshell phones of the past.

Apple has always relied on liquid-crystal displays (LCD) but rumours have been floating around that OLED is in Apple’s future. Having “bendable” phones isn’t exactly a new thing. The likes of LG have played around with the idea before so if a foldable iPhone is in our future we won’t be as surprised. What do you think? Is this something you’d want to have?

Source: Recode