Apple’s Foldable iPhone Isn’t Here Yet, So This Developer Is Building His Own
Image via Shutterstock
Reports of Apple designing a foldable iPhone have been floating around for years, but even with Android device makers launching several variations of bendy smartphones, the Cupertino tech giant still hasn’t unleashed its own.
Developer Scotty Allen of YouTube channel Strange Parts thus decided to try his hand at building a foldable iPhone. Based in the electronics hub of Shenzhen, Allen has great access and exposure to many of the parts used in tech products. He’s built iPhones from scratch, upsized the storage of a 16GB model to an eyebrow-raising 128GB, and fixed up an old iPhone with wireless charging capabilities. Clearly, if you were betting on a non-Apple employee to put together a foldable iPhone from scratch, this would be your guy.
Currently, Allen isn’t quite close to completing a folding iPhone as he would have liked, but he has managed to prepare some prototypes using flexible screens. Each display cost him about US$500, making it a very expensive project.
In the video, YouTuber walked through the process of designing the prototypes—which are presently mirrors of a real iPhone, and much more challenging to create than one would expect. Turns out, it’s not as straightforward as hooking an HDMI cable to a phone.
Of course, since Allen couldn’t gain access to some of the technology adopted by Apple, he had to take some unique measures to simulate the workings of a bendable iPhone.
The flexible screens available in the market are also pretty fragile. Sturdy foldable displays aren’t something that’s been perfected by smartphone manufacturers yet; you’ve probably seen complaints about Samsung Galaxy Folds creasing after repeated use.
To get closer to achieving a foldable iPhone, Allen said he is working with a hacker friend to build one that might mimic the real deal.
As for Apple users who aren’t too eager to get their hands on one yet, you can expect a foldable iPhone with an OLED display to debut in 2023, if the latest reports are to be believed.
[via Yanko Design, cover image via Shutterstock]
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