Apple gets patent for foldable iPhone

Apple today has been granted a patent for a hi-tech foldable iPhone that is made from ceramic, the material used in the recently updated Apple Watch.

Patently Apple uncovered the new patent that Apple applied for three years ago. The publication theorizes that Apple kept the patent hidden from discovery by lodging the application under the name of the individual designers rather than the usual habit of lodging the patent application under the Apple name.

Sketches in the patent application show an iPhone with a fold down the middle of the screen, with carbon nanotubes giving strength to the structure.

Pot luck: Apple patents giant planter

In the patent application, Apple says the housing for the phone could be aluminum, glass, ceramic or even plastic.

Apple is granted about 2000 patents a year, and just because it patents something it does not mean that it will result in a product.

But chief design officer Jony Ive gave an insight into the time involved in going from an idea to implementation last week in an interview with CNET about the new MacBook Pro Touch Bar, saying the design of the Touch Bar came after two years of trying a range of designs.

Apple is expected to majorly revamp the iPhone design next year, although if it does develop a foldable iPhone that is likely to be something several years down the line.