Apple is constantly developing great ideas, many of which it stakes out with patents long before they ever see the light of day. However, those patents provide a window into the changes we could expect for devices like the iPhone and iPad down the line.
A recent patent application noticed by Unwired View provides some insight with regard to new iPhone and iPad technologies that could be on the way. The application shows convex and concave displays with flexible surfaces, which, according to Unwired View, could allow for “replacing and improving all traditional input/output elements of the phone.”
Specifically, the flexible display means Apple could include features such as a tactile keyboard that allows users to feel the letters as they type or a display that can capture or generate sound waves, letting it serve as a speaker and a microphone.
These ideas come on the heels of a recently approved Apple patent that imagines the iPhone handling travel functions such as automatically checking luggage and clearing users at security. Although all of these ideas may be several years off if they arrive at all, it’s fun to guess where Apple might be headed next.
In the meantime, if the screen on your iPhone or iPad breaks, you can turn to iPhone repair from iResQ to get a new one – although sadly only the regular inflexible kind is available for the foreseeable future.