Are foldable phones the future? That’s hard to say given that no one has one yet and it has yet to be decided if the concept is pure novelty or if it truly represents the next evolution in terms of smartphone design. While Apple has kept mum about their plans or thoughts on such devices, they have been quietly exploring the idea.

More recently it seems that a recently discovered patent (via AppleInsider) has revealed that Apple is looking into preventing foldable displays from cracking while faced with extreme temperatures. According to Apple, they claim that flexible displays could be prone to damage when bent in cold temperatures. The company has since proposed a solution in which the folded part of the display could be heated up to help prevent cracking.

This can be done by either lighting up the pixels in that particular area of the screen or a heating element could be introduced. It even suggests the use of a magnetic latching mechanism that would prevent the phone from being folded or unfolded when faced with such extreme temperatures.

It is an interesting take on things and if anything, it suggests that Apple is indeed exploring the technology. Whether or not Apple will actually move forward with such a device remains to be seen so maybe don’t get your hopes up just yet.

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