Rumors are starting to gather pace about the iPhone 13 and the possibility of an iPhone with a foldable display coming in 2021, but is it an ACTUAL possibility?

Technology

Apple is like most of the tech companies out there right now – ahead of the pack in some regards and lagging behind a little in other.

In terms of Apple silicon and chipset, Apple is ahead, albeit by not that much. The custom chips Apple uses (A14 Bionic in the case of the iPhone 12 Pro)generally outperforms their android rivals such as Snapdragon and Kirin, but they also have a much more stable base to work off. Apple control the software and the hardware, something most of it’s rival do not do . Android is so fragmented that even that most powerful chipsets can struggle a little at times. Apple’s ‘cores’ (excuse the pun) are fast, powerful and reliable.

Where Apple does lag behind however, is in screen tech. The panels Apple uses on their iPhones are generally made by third party vendors, Samsung in most cases in fact. While Apple places the order and spec they want from Samsung, along with screen calibration requirements, they do not require the screen with the highest pixel count or fastest frame rates.

Instead, Apple opts for consistency and reliability. Solid HD panels that give a wide, accurate color gamut. Truth be told, most customers won’t tell much difference in a nice iPhone HD panel and an Android FHD or 2K panel. Most apps and video simply do not take advantage of the higher visual quality requirements.

This shows that Apple will go for reliability over cutting edge in terms of this part of the iPhone, every time.

Foldable Displays

What does this mean for the prospect of foldable displays on Apple devices then? Is a foldable iPhone 13 on the cards?

It doesn’t look good in the short term unfortunately.

As mentioned earlier, Apple likes solid, consistent screens on their mobile devices (iPad included), and foldable displays simply are not there yet.

From the creases causes by the ‘fold’ to the absence of actual screen protect, to the multiple software issues a foldable display would cause just for running apps, Apple is almost certainly out, for now.

The Future

In the short term, no chance. I cannot see Apple adopting foldable displays of any kind in the next 3 years, at the very LEAST.

The demand isn’t there, the tech isn’t there and the reliability certainly isn’t there.

Apple will be quite happy making record profits year on year, with by far the most popular mobile device on the market.

Makes sense, eh?

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