Apple Has a Patent for a Folding Phone

Recently, Apple was granted a peculiar patent. A patent for “electronic devices with carbon nanotube printed circuit.”

The inclusion of drawings makes it a little clearer what Apple is planning: a foldable, if not bendable, phone (or tablet, who knows?).

This image from Apple’s recent patent shows that the company may be starting to develop foldable, or bendable, phones. (USPTO Patent Database)

The patent has several more hints as to the nature of the tech, including phrases like “Bends may be formed along edges of a touch sensor or display” and “The signal paths may resist cracking when bent.”

Carbon nanotube PCBs can make the internal guts of a phone flexible and bendable–maybe even foldable–but not all of a phone’s entrails would magically become foldable under this patent, Geek.com reported. If Apple wan’ts a fully foldable phone, the company may have to file more patents.

Now, Apple holds a lot of patents. No one is quite sure what this will end up being, or if it will be anything any time soon.