Apple's foldable iPhone display may have 'excellent' power efficiency

On his Twitter account, Renowned Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has shared an important update about Apple's first-ever foldable iPhone model. The analyst has claimed that Apple is testing E Ink's color Electronic Paper Display (EPD) for future foldable device's cover screens. In the same tweet, Kuo has also added that Apple is also testing the EPD technology in “tablet-like applications.”

E Ink displays are currently in use in Amazon's Kindle e-readers devices. While these displays are extremely low on power consumption, they are less responsive than OLED panels. This is because the ones from E Ink feature a lower refresh rate, which is why it's perhaps best suited to devices like the Kindle, where there isn't much dynamic usage.

Cover displays in foldable phones are primarily used for checking time and notifications and thus don't have much dynamic usage. On the surface, E Ink's displays seem to be a perfect fit for a device where the refresh rate is not that important, but power efficiency is. And this is why Apple may have gone with testing the display technology for its future foldable devices.

Kuo has also added that the color EPD has the potential to become a mainstream solution for the cover displays of foldable devices.

It is worth pointing out that Apple could cancel the project if it doesn't get the desired results, and in that case, the company will look somewhere else. Apple's foldable iPhone and a foldable MacBook are rumored to go official in 2025, so Apple has ample time to decide on which display technology it wants to use for its foldable iPhone models.