Apple iPhone foldables may get these e-paper displays

Leaks suggest Apple is testing E Ink’s Electronic Paper Display (EPD) for future foldable device’s cover screen.

Apple Foldables could have E Ink’s cover display. (@EveryApplePro/Twitter)

We have heard a lot of speculations and rumors about Apple planning to join the likes of Samsung and Huawei in releasing a foldable device for a long time now. In 2021, a report suggested that Apple was prototyping folding displays internally, and as of April this year popular analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has predicted that Apple could release a device with a 9-inch foldable display in 2025. Now a new leak suggests that the company is testing the use of a color display from E Ink as an external screen. Popular analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has shared the same through a tweet. He tweeted “Apple is testing E Ink's Electronic Paper Display (EPD) for future foldable device's cover screen & tablet-like applications.” He further noted that 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. He also added that the E Ink display is also being tested in “tablet-like applications.”

Though android phones like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 or the Oppo Find N used OLED panels for both inner as well as outer display, use of an E Ink screen would make Apple's outer display less responsive with fewer colors. However, Kuo noted that it could be far more power-efficient.

E Ink is best known for its monochrome displays that Amazon uses in its Kindles. However, the company also has a line of color screens. Recently, it has also announced E Ink Gallery 3, a new version of its color E Ink technology that can produce more colors at a higher resolution. It is still nowhere near as responsive as an equivalent OLED or LCD panel.

Apple is already late to the foldable market and seems like it's still years away from the release.

Meanwhile, Apple is gearing up for its annual developer conference WWDC 2022 in June 2022. The event is scheduled to take place between June 6 and June 10.