Apple Increasing Foldable Phone Patents
Major smartphone manufacturers are showing different movements in the foldable smartphone market. Samsung Electronics is having a hard time fixing the release date for its first foldable smartphone due to concerns over defects and Huawei is having the same difficulties amid the ongoing trade war between the United States and China. Apple, meanwhile, recently obtained a patent on a foldable display.
The release of the Samsung Galaxy Fold has been postponed twice in the United States since device defects were found by experts who previewed it. Best Buy canceled its entire pre-order on May 23.
Rumor has it that the Galaxy Fold will be released this month or next month. If the latter is the case, it has to compete with the Huawei Mate X first. This is quite burdensome on the part of Samsung Electronics, which unveiled the world’s first foldable smartphone. Fortunately for Samsung, though, it is becoming less and less likely that the Huawei Mate X will be released in July. This is because U.S. restrictions on Huawei are thwarting its product release plans.
Apple is increasing the number of its related patents before the release of its first foldable smartphone. The company obtained the patent from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on May 28. Wedbush Securities analyst Daniel Ives said that Apple’s first foldable smartphone is expected to be released in late 2020 or 2021.