Glass thinner than a human hair: How the new iPhone bends but doesn’t break
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The super thin layer of glass in a foldable iPhone is reportedly less than 30 micrometers thick, or much finer than human hair.
PHOTO: EPA
William J. Broad
- Apple’s new iPhone Duo features a 7.6-inch foldable glass screen that bends many times without breaking, using ultra-thin glass thinner than a human hair.
- The glass’s flexibility comes from being less than 30 micrometers thick, reducing strain and allowing it to curve rather than break, similar to how thin paper bends more than wood.
- Additional layers include flexible boron trioxide glass, durable transparent plastic, and elastic adhesives, all engineered to endure repeated folding without damage.
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Apple on Sept 9 unveiled the iPhone Duo, its first foldable smartphone with a 7.6-inch glass screen that is capable of bending countless times without breaking.
The Duo is not the first foldable phone; Google, Samsung and Motorola have all released devices with displays that bend. But in his pitch for the Duo, Apple’s new chief executive John Ternus said the company’s latest offering “will redesign the experience of using a foldable phone”.