Enthusiasts showed a working folding iPhone
Miscellaneous / / April 05, 2023
The Chinese managed to make such a gadget before Apple itself.
A new video has been released on the Chinese YouTube channel Aesthetics of Technology. In it, the presenter notes that now of the 7 largest smartphone manufacturers, only Apple has not yet released a folding model - and, rumoredwon't do it for a few more years. The author decided to fix the situation on his own and set about developing a folding iPhone V, which eventually took more than 200 days.
Based on the native display from the iPhone X. It consists of six layers. To make it flexible, the outer glass and 3D Touch had to be removed without damaging the contents. It turned out to be difficult to do this: for 5 months, damaged screens only accumulated, not a single experiment turned out to be successful.
Adding to the problems was the fact that even a successfully separated display from everything superfluous could not withstand bending. But the author did not give up, and the 37th attempt was finally crowned with success. The original flexible screen from the iPhone is ready, it remains to make a case for it.
In search of inspiration, I had to disassemble two Galaxy Z Flip. Although the internal design impressed the enthusiast, the option turned out to be inappropriate: the screen sizes do not fit, and the wear of even a display prepared for constant folds is too much. Dismantled next Motorola RAZR, and this option came up better: in it, the display bends to a smaller angle due to the hinge design, and the OLED panel has a better chance of surviving.
To rebuild the iPhone X in a RAZR case, I had to completely change the arrangement of the elements inside. The battery moved to the upper half, but noticeably lost weight in the process: the battery was placed with a capacity of only 1,000 mAh, which is why the iPhone V is guaranteed to receive the title of the least autonomous iPhone. Other compromises include the lack of wireless charging and a second speaker, also due to space issues and the desire to maintain adequate thickness.
The software part remained. To work correctly, I had to jailbreak and install a custom version of iOS with split-screen support. This made it possible to use the halves of the display independently and get rid of strange, deformed applications.
The result is a fully working iPhone V. But the unsuitable screen nevertheless made itself felt: after a few days, creases and bubbles appeared on it, it became impossible to use it. The author does not lose heart and plans to assemble the second generation of the iPhone V - and takes advice in the comments on how to improve it.
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