Mashable:Apple is working on a foldable phone with a sensor that will let it know when it has been dropped.

There have been many rumors that Apple is working on folding iPhones, similar to the mixed reality headset. More information has come out about the much-anticipated Apple product, which, according to a recent report, might not be released to the public until 2025.

The community site Patently Apple says that Apple has sent a patent application to the USPTO for a "Self-retracting display device and techniques for protecting screen using drop detection."

As the patent name suggests, Apple is working on a foldable phone with a sensor that will let it know when it has been dropped. The motorized hinge will work in tandem with an accelerometer to quickly retract the phone's display screen (fold inward) upon detecting the abrupt increase in speed caused by the phone's fall. One of the most expensive parts of a smartphone, the display, is protected from accidental drops of this kind.

The idea is interesting, but it remains to be seen if the device can really fold in on itself within a second or two after being dropped from a height of about one meter, which is about waist height for most people.

There have been phones in the past like the Redmi K20 Pro that used a motorized, self-retracting camera. Even though it was slow, it could detect when it was falling and try to retract all the way into a safe position thanks to its sensors. The motor, display, and hinge on the foldable iPhone need components that are even more robust than the present crop of surgery-grade and aerospace-grade materials used in the iPhone Pro and conventional iPhones.

Apple has filed for a number of patents that describe possible designs. There was also mention of rollable displays.

One expert while talking to CNBC, predicted that a foldable iPhone would cost around $2,500. The filing of a patent application does not guarantee that Apple will really produce a foldable iPhone, but it does show that the corporation is at least considering the possibility.

According to data from Canalys, only slightly more than 14 million folding phones were sold worldwide last year. Around 12 million of those were Samsung Galaxy phones.