Today preorders open for the iPhone Duo, Apple’s first foldable. A foldable that has taken several years to join the lineup, and the reason for this delay is explained by the company’s new CEO, John Ternus.
An idea Apple had been exploring since 2011
In an interview published in TIME magazine, the now CEO explains how he and five other engineers filed a patent for foldable devices in 2011. “It seemed clear that we’d eventually get to a point where OLED screens would be flexible,” he explains. By the time it was unveiled, Apple had spent fifteen years studying this technology and waiting for every component to meet its standards in order to shape a finished device.
During that time several foldables hit the market. Ternus describes those first devices as “cheap and shoddy,” especially because of their fragility and the visible crease. They were undoubtedly taking steps in the right direction, but they weren’t ready for the market. Apple chose to keep working until it achieved an experience that truly lived up to the iPhone.
“When it’s right, you’ll know”
Richard Dinh, vice president of Product Design, says that at first he was working on a surface too similar to that of other foldables. Ternus replied: “When it’s right, you’ll know.” That leeway allowed Apple to develop a specific nanotexture, a hinge with more than 100 precision components, and a replaceable inner layer.
The result is a foldable that, in its first version, is setting a new standard; one whose crease is practically invisible. Apple chose to enter the foldable market with its own take, carefully refining the materials, manufacturing, and software to create something unique.
