The arrival of the folding iPhone is only a matter of time. Apple cannot allow Samsung to monopolize new folding screen or dual screen formats that – without achieving massive sales due to their high price – are being tracked by more consumers with each new generation entering the market.

And Apple is not escaping trends in the industry. She innovated like few others in the smartphone sector, but she was also “inspired” like others when a trend in the search for news that would boost sales appeared on the horizon. We’ve seen it in terms of increasing the screen size of its terminals, speeding up the arrival of 5G or marketing “mini” versions at lower prices.

Foldable iPhone with E Ink Display

Existing folding phones often include secondary screens with OLED or LCD panels. Although these solutions offer the same high resolution and response as the primary display, they make the product more expensive and consume a lot of battery.

Apple may have a repair and renowned analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says the company is testing screen with electronic inkmuch more efficient due to its low consumption. In a recent tweetKuo says Apple is testing E Ink EPD panels in order to use them for the cover / secondary screen of its folding devices.

Apple is testing E Ink’s electronic paper display (EPD) for future folding cover screens and tablet-like applications. Color EPD has the potential to become a common solution for folding devices that must have a cover / second screen due to its excellent energy savings.

– ing 錤 (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) May 17, 2022

These types of screens are commonly used in e-book readers, but also in other devices for non-critical functions such as time display, notification notifications and other secondary functions. Its real advantage is what Apple is looking for: high energy efficiency.

Last month, E Ink announced a new color e-ink display called Gallery 3 with an improved refresh rate fast enough to allow access from styluses. It’s not clear if Kuo means this panel when he talks about Apple testing, but it’s not unlikely.

It must be said that Rumors of a folding iPhone began to appear in 2017 and shortly after Apple’s existence for this market segment became known. Apple did not choose the final design, but largely covered all the features of the form factor: the lid; with two or three screens; with folded in or out and with internal and external device screens.

However, all indications are that Apple is betting on and flip type design for your first folding iPhone. No one but Apple knows the release date. What is certain is that this type of format will be a boost. Meanwhile, Samsung, a major leader in the sector, continues to work and the Galaxy Z Fold4 is expected to be the next version of the best folding mobile phone on the market.