According to uber-analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple is currently testing a color E Ink display that would be used as an external screen on an upcoming foldable device.
This is the sort of claim that would make you chuckle and shake your head, and I would have done the same had it not come from one of the few consistently reliable Apple analysts in Ming-Chi Kuo. In a tweet, he wrote, “The color EPD [Electronic Paper Display] has the potential to become a mainstream solution for foldable devices’ must-have cover/second screen thanks to its excellent power-saving.”
Apple is testing E Ink's Electronic Paper Display (EPD) for future foldable device's cover screen & tablet-like applications. The color EPD has the potential to become a mainstream solution for foldable devices' must-have cover/second screen thanks to its excellent power-saving.
— 郭明錤 (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) May 17, 2022
"E Ink" in this tweet is a company name, not Electronic Ink; it's 元太科技 in Chinese.https://t.co/F9ikoX1YkU https://t.co/grHcwsglvz
— 郭明錤 (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) May 17, 2022
Most foldable devices either don’t have an external screen or they use a standard OLED panel. The problem with the former is that you can’t use the device folded, while the latter is more convenient but drains the battery. Using color E Ink, assuming it works as well as everyone hopes, could give you some, if not most, of the functionality of an OLED panel while conserving battery life.
MacDailyNews Take: Could be just testing that goes nowhere or it could someday develop into a shipping product. regardless, more into about E Ink Gallery 3 Color ePaper:
E Ink Gallery 3 offers faster update times, improved resolution, a new front light technology that reduces #bluelight, and more! Learn more about the next generation of color #ePaper here. https://t.co/wHsLekvyDA pic.twitter.com/kkAhpuRKob
— E Ink (@EInk) April 25, 2022
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[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Fred Mertz” for the heads up.]
The crease on the display will NOT hold up well……….
Use a iPad if you need a giant screen….
Using just a bench vise, I would like to try folding my iPhone 8 myself. But I’m pretty sure that would void the warranty.
The fact that a folding phone/tablet needs a second outside screen to be considered usable makes folding phones a gimmick. Apple tests many things. Apple also works to reduce mechanical complexity. Putting a complex hinge and delicate folding screen on a iPhone/iPad is the opposite of Apple design. That second outside screen is needed because users do NOT want to unfold the device, so why make it foldable and extra thick/heavy to implement a gimmick.