Apple's Patent Heightens Interest in its Foldable Gadget

Apple's most recent patent is fueling speculation that the company will soon unveil a foldable gadget.

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The patent, which was granted to Apple on Tuesday, proposes technology that would let consumers interact with more than just the screen of a smartphone.

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According to the patent, a user might, for instance, touch a device's side to operate the camera. A user could also move their finger up and down the side of the device to change the volume; Apple refers to this as a "virtual shutter button."

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A sketch of a folding phone or tablet with a wraparound screen is one of the pictures in the patent.

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Unlike rivals like Samsung, Apple hasn't yet unveiled a foldable iPhone or any other device. Smartphones that fold up into themselves provide the user the option to bend the gadget to close it before opening it to expose a larger screen.

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However, a number of analyst forecasts as well as this patent are raising hopes that the American technological behemoth would soon release a foldable gadget.

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The patent "may signal a foldable handset is a possibility but not this year," according to analysts at UBS, who also suggested that a foldable smartphone "might be an incremental potential for future generation iPhone models."

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According to a letter from UBS, "we think that a foldable iPhone model might lead to an upsurge in consumer purchase and upgrade rate within the smartphone market."

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The investment bank's analysts predicted that the number of iPhone units sold in Apple's fiscal year, which runs from October 2023 to September 2024, may exceed 238 million if a foldable device "compresses the upgrading rate for iPhone" or draws customers away from Android phones.

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Even still, according to IDC, shipments of foldable smartphones will only represent 1.1% of the global smartphone market in 2022.

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A Foldable iPad?

Apple typically waits to see how a new trend develops rather than rushing to market with it. Foldable smartphones have been introduced by companies like Samsung and Chinese electronics manufacturer Oppo, but they are still in their infancy.

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Analysts have speculated over the last few months that Apple may be working on a foldable smartphone, but it's unlikely to be an iPhone.

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In 2017, market research company CCS Insight claimed that Apple would introduce a folding-screen iPad in 2024.

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"A foldable iPhone is not now a viable option for Apple. Ben Wood, chief of research at CCS Insight, said in an interview with Trade Algo, "We anticipate they will eschew that trend and probably dip a toe in the water with a foldable iPad.

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In addition, renowned Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said this year that the company will launch a foldable iPad in 2024.