Apple appears to be working hard to ensure it doesn’t repeat Samsung’s mistakes when it launches the iPhone Fold. A new report says the company is considering the use of a new built-in screen protector with exceptional surface hardness and scratch resistance.
It follows an earlier report on another move Apple is said to be making in order to maximize the robustness of the upcoming model …
The problem with folding phones
Folding phones introduce a whole raft of new susceptibilities to both internal and external damage. These vulnerabilities include:
- The crease where the display folds
- The rest of the ultra-thin glass display
- The hinge mechanism
- Ribbon cables connecting the two sides
Notable among these is the risk of dust and other debris getting trapped between the two sides of the display when the phone is folded, leading to cracks, while folding screens are also more prone to shattering when the device is dropped. This was one of several issues with the notoriously disastrous launch of the original Samsung Galaxy Fold.
A report earlier this week suggested that Apple would introduce new button placements in order to reduce the risk of damage to ribbon cables during the fold. Now a new one says the company is paying equal attention to the robustness of the display surface.
How Apple may protect the display
Folding screens require the use of what is known as ultra-thin glass (UTG). As the name suggests, this flexible material is significantly more vulnerable than conventional phone displays when it comes to both physical impact and shock damage, like the device being dropped even while folded.
The Elec reports that Apple is currently reviewing the possibility of using a much tougher built-in screen protector than the one used on Samsung’s foldables. Samsung uses polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film as a built-in screen protector, but Apple is reportedly considering supplementing this with an additional layer of protection known as polyimide (PI) film.
According to multiple industry sources, Apple is reportedly considering both PET film and transparent PI film as protective materials for the UTG of its foldable products […]
Apple’s consideration of transparent PI film as a protective layer over the UTG, unlike Samsung Electronics, appears to be a differentiation strategy. An industry insider explained, “Transparent PI film is more expensive than PET film, but its higher surface hardness makes it more scratch-resistant.”
Samsung, meantime, is adding more folds.
Photo by Yue Ma on Unsplash
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