Apparently, Apple has not ruled out entering the world of folding smartphones, since a patent application The recently discovered discovery suggests that the company is looking for a way to better protect these devices from drops.
Available on the website of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the application is called Device with Auto-Retractable Screen and Techniques to Protect Screens Using Fall Detection.
As described, the device will have some kind of sensor inside, such as an accelerometer. If it detects that the iPhone is falling, the sensor will send a signal to a “electronically adjustable locking mechanism” so that the phone closes quickly.
The app implies that the mechanism may not close all the way if the phone is too close to the ground, leaving it partially open. But nothing happens, since, according to the patent, “Even folding the screen to less than 180 degrees can offer some protection.” At least the impact will be on the sides and not directly on the screen.
Much of the patent document talks about the capabilities of the foldable phone. For example, the sensor behind the fall protection may consist of “accelerometers, gyroscopes, compasses and/or other components” to detect movement. However, Apple is not directly targeting any specific technology.
The most important thing for the company is that the internal mechanisms are capable of detecting when the speed drops “exceeds a predetermined threshold» to close automatically. It remains to be seen if the device is actually capable of registering a drop fast enough to shut down completely.