For several years now, the top smartphone manufacturers in the world have been introducing foldable screens. Since 2020, several devices with clamshell designs and flexible displays have been become available, particularly from Samsung, Huawei, and Motorola.
The market for foldable smartphones hasn’t yet been joined by tech giant Apple, and it doesn’t appear that one will be released any time soon.
KJMX, a Hong Kong-based YouTuber, decided to take matters into his own hands and transform one iPhone into a foldable model. The recently disclosed “iPhone V” incorporates a bendable display and shaft using the Motorola Razr flip smartphone’s hinge.
REMOVING AN IMPACT-PROOF IPHONE SCREEN
KJMX describes how he collaborated with a group of engineers to develop the foldable model in a recently published video before guiding viewers through the entire change. The YouTuber explains that the team had to use an iPhone X screen in order to create a flip iPhone with optimum appearances and performance. Then he continues;
“To construct a flexible display, you have to disassemble it without ruining the original screen.”
The team had to go through a lot of trial and error to successfully complete the separation procedure because the original iPhone screen is a fragile layered structure. “You have to use the proper force.” they were able to retrieve one bendable display.
Additionally, variables like pressure and temperature need to be considered. KJMX was ultimately able to remove a single bending display after almost five months and 37 displays.
THE END RESULT FOR IPHONE V
The crew looked to the main digital firms for solutions when designing the shaft. The engineers discovered that the folding designs did not make a good match for the excised iPhone screen and rejected them after comparing them to Samsung’s bendable models.
They examined Motorola’s options and discovered their ideal design in the Razr model, which the company will sell in September 2020. It appears that Motorola’s hinge, which enables the screen to fold into the shape of a water drop, is the best one for the delicate screen.
Engineers had to reorganize the motherboard and battery as well as the remaining original components in order to finish the iPhone V. In order to include the components inside the fold-out casing, the team chose to reverse the whole internal structure.
The final product is far from flawless; it has creases, gaps, and bubbles that cannot be removed, and the smartphone itself is fragile and vulnerable to harm from extreme bending. Additionally, several of the technical features were insecure.
“The primary goal of our project was to create a foldable iPhone for daily use. But once we arrived, we had to deal with still another significant challenge.”
The YouTuber notes that many features had to be removed. For instance, the iPhone V could only fit a 1000mAh battery, giving it the shortest standby life of any iPhone model. The group has nevertheless technically produced the first foldable iPhone, which it intends to enhance soon.
Whether Apple will respond with a legitimate product remains the only major unanswered question.
