Apple Files Patent for Flexible iPad Smart Cover Display

Apple has filed for a patent that will incorporate a flexible display into its signature Smart Cover for the iPad. Although details are vague, Apple says the secondary accessory device will “communicate with a host device by way of a [wireless] communication channel.”

Apple says the integrated technology will greatly enhance “the overall functionality of the tablet device” and it won’t affect the iPad’s or the Smart Cover’s form factor. The display will consist of a flexible flap with a similar size as the iPad’s display, and a communication channel will convey info between the iPad and the accessory device and present some of that info visually on the flap display.

Originally filed on August 11 of 2011, the patent was made public August 2nd. As we know, Apple has filed many patents that haven’t become a reality, so who knows if this one will materialize into a real product, but it’s still an interesting, if vague, concept.

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