Imagine you've just purchased Apple's first foldable iPhone. On the way home from the local Apple Store, your phone slips out of your hand and falls to the pavement, leaving a small dent. You can go back and pay Apple to repair it, but there's another solution: let your phone repair itself.
The above paragraph, of course, paints a picture of an Apple product that will be around for many years. However, some published Apple patents have recently been discovered that suggest that future iPhones will be able to repair themselves.
According to Patently Apple, the US Patent and Trademark Office has officially published 51 new Apple patents. These patents relate to the self-healing properties of future phones. The technology involves the presence of a layer of self-healing material that can cover the entire display of the device or only a certain area that is more prone to damage. The main source of self-healing will be heat.
In practice, what is said in Apple's new patents will be most useful for folding phones.
Rumors say that Apple may release a folding iPhone in the coming years. At the same time, it will compete with future versions of Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold, Google Pixel Fold and similar phones already on the market. Despite the improvements that happen every year, these phones are more prone to display problems because they are thinner than the displays installed on more traditional smartphones. Flexibility is also an issue.
A self-healing iPhone certainly sounds futuristic, so much so that most people might assume that a self-repairing iPhone is impossible. However, such a concept has already been done. In 2013, LG introduced a self-healing back panel on its curved LG G Flex phone, which was designed to heal minor scratches over time.
Whether Apple will ever incorporate self-healing features into future products remains to be seen. . Like other technology companies, Apple often applies for and receives patents for innovations that never see the light of day.
According to the latest rumors, Apple may release a foldable smartphone, dubbed the “iPhone Flip”, already in 2025. However, the release date of Apple's first foldable iPhone keeps getting pushed back, which suggests that the company is in no rush to learn from others before launching a foldable phone. It will be worth the wait if we see an iPhone with healing properties.