Apple Is Testing An E-ink Display As A Second Screen For Foldable iPhone
Foldable iPhone leaks are coming in hot this time of the year. According to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple is exploring the use of color e-ink displays for its future products.
Why? You ask, well, according to Kuo color e-ink is particularly well suited to enabling a low-power second screen experience for a foldable form factor device.
It’s 2022 and Apple still does not make any foldable iPhone. But there have been several reports that suggest that Apple is already working on its first foldable device. Some rumors suggest it can even be an iPad.
Is Apple working on a foldable iPhone?
In February of this year, display analyst Ross Young and Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman talked about a 20-inch folding Macbook/iPad design that they said is in development.
According to Kuo, the e-ink panel would serve as the outward-facing display, providing a low-power accessory screen experience for users. users who want some utility out of their foldable iPhone without having to unfold it will benefit from it.
Going the e-ink way would be an interesting deviation from the direction of the Android foldable market. There already is quite the competition for foldable in the market. Samsung has been the reigning champion when it comes to excellent foldable.
Let’s take an example of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold which features a 6.2-inch AMOLED cover display. It makes the device look almost like a standard phone in closed operation. The user can unfold the device to look at the beautiful 7.6-inch main screen inside.
However, An e-ink display would not be appropriate for this design. Galaxy Z Flip on the other hand features a very small 1.9-inch OLED cover screen, which acts as a simple readout for the time and notifications display.
Samsung can easily use the e-ink technology to extend battery life significantly as e-ink does not consume power static content. The lowered refresh rate of e-ink panels, compared to OLED or LCD, also does not matter. A foldable iPhone will also benefit in terms of battery life via this display.
Kuo even shares his ideas as to how e-ink / e-paper could become the mainstream choice for these outer accessory displays. However, Apple has been known to change plans in the past. All we can do is speculate right now. Do you prefer the idea of this new display technology? Comment down below.
