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

Samsung patent shows us nearly edge-to-edge display

Samsung isn’t a stranger to the bezel-less design trend sweeping the smartphone market. You could even say they’re one of the pioneers for it. But it looks like they’re not nearly done shrinking down those bezels, or at least this design patent makes us say they’re at least thinking about shrinking it down further. GalaxyClub.nl discovered a design patent the company filed with the Korea Intellectual Property Rights Information Service (KIPRIS) in May 2016. And as the diagram above shows, the bezels are almost non-existent with just a small notch on top that will most likely house things like the camera and speaker and whatever sensor is needed for the front panel.

However, we don’t know if this design patent will ever make it to a device. Companies will file different patents but these don’t exactly translate into actual product. But we can’t say we aren’t hoping they actually consider making this. What about you? Is this something you’d want?

Source: Android Authority

Patent shows new details about Facebook’s AR glasses

If you’re wondering what Facebook is doing in the augmented reality space, a newly published patent shows us the possibilities. The device is described as something that can “augment views of a physical, real-world environment with computer-generated elements" and "be included in an eye-wear comprising a frame and a display assembly that presents media to a user's eyes." It has what’s called a waveguide display with a two-dimensional scanner being developed by Facebook's virtual reality arm Oculus VR. The display could be used not just for AR but for virtual reality, mixed reality, or a combination of those three.

The display will make use of lasers, scanning mirrors, and other elements to display content. According to the patent filing, the lasers will emit light onto the lens displays and transform these into the images and videos you’ll be able to see. There might also be audio courtesy of connected speakers or headphones. While the patent might be here, this doesn’t necessarily mean we’re getting the device soon. As Mashable points out, Oculus’ chief scientist Michael Abrash spoke at F8 saying that always-on AR glasses are at least five years away. For now, we can just think about the possibilities.