Apple patents flexible display backing that changes stiffness for folding
Apple describes a flexible display design where the glass layer behind the pixels changes stiffness depending on the area. The backing is stiffer in flat sections and more flexible in the fold area, using different thicknesses or materials to handle bending without breaking.
In the filing’s own words
An electronic device may include a flexible display and a foldable housing. The display may include a foldable cover glass, an array of pixels configured to display images through the foldable cover glass, and a backing layer configured to support the array of pixels. The backing layer may have an elastic modulus ranging from 50 GPa to 300 GPa and may be formed from glass or other suitable materials. The backing layer may have a higher stiffness in non-bending regions of the display and a lower stiffness in a bend region of the display. The variation in stiffness may be achieved using different thicknesses, different materials, different embedded structures, or different carbon fiber weaves. A glass backing layer may have a chamfered edge covered by a coating that is trimmed to align with other layers such as a metal backplate.
What exactly they claim (claim 1)
1. An electronic device, comprising: an array of pixels formed on a substrate; a display cover glass overlapping the array of pixels; and a glass backing layer configured to support the substrate, wherein the substrate is interposed between the display cover glass and the glass backing layer, and wherein the substrate, the display cover glass, and the glass backing layer are configured to bend about a bend axis.
Facts
- Company
- Apple (Apple Inc.)
- Official title
- Backing Layers for Flexible Displays
- Publication number
- US20260304649A1
- Application number
- 19574138
- Filed
- Mar 20, 2026
- Published
- Oct 1, 2026
- Inventors
- 12
- Claims
- 20
Classified under
H05K 5/0217 Electricity & electronicsH05K 5/03 Electricity & electronicsMore from Apple in Phones & computers
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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.