Nov 07, 2016 03:16 PM EST By yasi bilangel, UniversityHerald Reporter

Apple has filed a patent that may suggest that the company is soon to release foldable and bendable iPhones. To mark the tenth year anniversary of the iPhone, is it possible that the company will be using the technology on their newest 2017 releases?

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has just released an image indicating that Apple may be tinkering with the look and design of the iPhone. The patent was filed by Apple in 2014 and was recently awarded by USPTO with patent #9,485,862 labelled "Electronic devices with carbon nanotube-printed circuits."

The patent image shows the presence of hinges, typically seen in flip phones. Moreover, the image dimension is very similar to the Nintendo 3Ds.

What the image reveals is a drastic change in appearance if the technology will be applied to the iPhone. For a good decade, the iPhone basically stayed the same with a few tweaks in its appearance but with the same basic functionalities. As a tenth anniversary offer, Apple may take a different albeit drastic direction.

The Apple patent also indicates the use of a combination of light materials like plastic, metal, ceramic glass and fiber components. The carbon nanotubes are incorporated into the signal cables or "rigid flex," which is basically a rigid circuit with flexible rails. These tubes are what enable the phone to be foldable and bendable, Hot Apple News reported.

There have been all kinds of rumors on the possibility of a foldable bendable phone. With every release of the iPhone, users often test its "un-bendability" as a factor against the product. If there is one huge weakness of the iPhone, it would be because it easily breaks and not bendable.

Many gadget freaks thought that Samsung may be in the forefront of the technology, but LG beat the South Korean firm by manufacturing a bendable screen, Tech Times reported. However, the Apple patent is still no guarantee that the Cupertino giant will use the technology in its iPhone 8 2017 releases.

There is not a guarantee that it will be used at all. For now, iPhone users need to find a better and safer way to carry their smartphones, definitely not in the back pocket where these can be sat on and potentially break.

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