It’s taken Apple a long time to advance work on iPhone Foldand the reason for this was said to be that the company was unhappy with the visible wrinkles in previous iterations of the display technology.
By the end of last year, about 100 foldable iPhone models said to be made for testing purposes. These will of course be closely guarded, but a competing Android phone has given us a reasonable idea of what to expect…
It’s all about wrinkles
Samsung’s foldable phones have been around for eight years now, but they’ve suffered from a number of serious problems. These include that the screen is vulnerable to damage when dust gets trapped in the device when folded, and an ugly wrinkle visible in the center of the screen when it is unfolded.
Since Samsung is Apple’s main display partner, this was a problem. The Cupertino company was reportedly unhappy with the early samples provided by Samsung and had to withdraw own engineers included.
The device was said to be last week almost ready to go into mass production.
Oppo Find N6
Our sister site 9 to 5 Google reports that Android smartphone maker Oppo just launched the Find N6 foldable phone with what it bills as a crease-free display.
The big news here is that the Oppo Find N6 is the world’s first self-proclaimed “wrinkle-free” foldable. Zero-Feel Crease is built to make creases effectively invisible to the eye and almost impossible to feel while using the phone. This was achieved, Oppo says, by using a special liquid 3D printing process that levels the hinge and ensures the screen has a flat surface to sit on top of. Glass Flex Auto-Smoothing further refines the look and delivers what is, in person, an impressive lack of wrinkles.
This will likely use Apple-like technology, and the site’s Ben Shoon is impressed. Oppo claims that it should expect to remain so for many years to come.
We’ve been testing a Find N6 unit for the past few days ahead of today’s launch, and it’s really impressive that the crease is not only nearly invisible, but stays that way even after folding the device. Very foldable that look if they don’t have a crease, it will often develop over time, but Oppo says the Find N6 is certified to stay flat even after 600,000 folds.
While it will eventually develop a more noticeable crease, the company says the mechanism is good for a million folds.
Of course, the angle at which the photo above was taken highlights the creases, but it’s very different looking directly at the screen.
The latest rumours suggests that the price of the iPhone Fold will start at $1,999.
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