Mar 03, 2017 03:20 AM EST By Donna Mills, UniversityHerald Reporter

Apple is constantly coming up with innovative ways on their iPhones. The company's new patent filing revealed that their next smartphones will not just stop with flexibility; it will be able to roll like a scroll, too.

According to Apple Insider, the tech giant is planning an iPhone with a super-flexible OLED screen. The device can be rolled and unfurled like a scroll, meaning users can retract it into its casing if it's not in use and they want to hide its screen. They can also use a quick deploy command to spread out its display.

The futuristic iPhone's internal components wouldn't be compromised. Two rounded housings on each end will contain the internals. Those spaces seem insufficient for the battery, processors and camera, among others, but it's safe to assume that Apple will have solved that issue by the time this iPhone emerges.

It's possible that the iPhone's deployment/retraction would be controlled by spring-loaded rollers in the aforementioned housings. The housings would be magnetized when the phone is retracted so it won't unfurl accidentally.

Apple filed a patent for flexible and stretchable screens recently. In this patent, the top bezels are completely removed and the sensors and other devices that provide haptic feedback are integrated into the screen.

Despite these plans for bendable screens, Apple hasn't exactly made a huge progress in the area yet. Samsung and LG, on the other hand, are reportedly working on the same tech and are preparing to announce flexible smartphones that can be laid out as tablets before this year ends.

Aside from bendable screens, Apple also filed a patent that expands the iPhone's touch control and further deems physical buttons unnecessary. In this scenario, users can unlock their iPhone easily by pressing on the device's backside instead of the front screen.

The additional touch controls will be created using quantum tunneling material and complex electron interactions. The technology can also be used on the Apple Watch but it should be placed strategically so as not to disrupt how the wearable functions on the wrist.

Apple is said to be considering the use of flexible LCD screens in future iPhones, The Wall Street Journal reported. Japan Display Inc. would mass produce the bendable liquid-crystal-display panels in 2018, so don't expect a flexible iPhone until then.

What do you think about a retractable iPhone? Sound off in the comments section below.

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