Two foldable iPhone prototypes reportedly pass internal durability tests

Two prototypes of foldable iPhones have passed internal durability tests, according to the Taiwanese website Economic Daily News.

Tests of a folding hinge system designed by Apple for two different iPhones were recently completed at Foxconn’s factory in Shenzhen, China.

The first foldable iPhone to be tested is considered a dual-screen model, which is probably the same dual-screen prototype commented on by Jon Prosser in June 2020. Prosser explained at the time that this model used two separate screen panels connected by a hinge . Although the ‌‌iPhone‌‌ prototype features two separate monitors connected by a hinge, Prosser said the panels appear “reasonably continuous and continuous”. It is also noteworthy that Apple has patented a device with two separate monitors that can be joined to create a single folding device with a hinge, which sounds surprisingly similar to Apple’s foldable dual-screen rumor.

The second prototype to have been tested is reportedly a foldable shell, much like the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip or Lenovo’s Moto RAZR. O UDN report states that this clamshell model is set to use a flexible Samsung OLED display. Previous reports have also said that Apple ordered a “large number” of sampling folding screens from Samsung cell phones for testing purposes in early 2020.

It is not clear whether the two devices that were tested had different hinge systems. Test units should be shells with very limited internal components, rather than fully functional devices. This is because the main purpose of the test was to assess the durability of the hinge system designed by Apple. The report states that now that the tests have been completed, Apple is expected to assess which of the two folding models to proceed with, and only one will be carried out in continuous development.

The findings in this report also appear to have been reflected by sources speaking to Jon Prosser. Prosser explained in a recent Front Page Tech video that there were two prototypes of foldable iPhones being tested, including one with two display panels and a shell with a single flexible OLED display. Prosser sources also said that these units passed durability tests and are now being evaluated by Apple.

A November 2020 report stated that Apple had sent foldable iPhones to Foxconn to test the foldable bearings with more than 100,000 opening and closing tests, which appears to be analogous to the recently completed test. Given the consistency of rumors surrounding foldable iPhones from various sources, particularly related to tests, they can be more reliable.

UDN predicts that a foldable iPhone will not appear until the end of 2022 or 2023, at the very least. Apple has applied for a large number of patents related to a foldable iPhone dating back to 2016, and it seems very likely that work on a foldable iPhone is progressing.