CUPERTINO (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Tuesday granted Apple a patent for a flexible electronic device as the tech giant deepens efforts to make smartphones from flexible materials.
Apple was also granted a patent for a lifestreaming mobile app and smart glasses, ostensibly a competitor to Google Glass.
These were among the 28 patents granted today to Apple by the U.S. patent office.
Apple's U.S. Patent for flexible electronic devices describes a portable device that can be flexed, bent, folded or deformed without hurting the delicate components inside.
The patent covers malleable external parts, such as the chassis and cover glass, with pliable internal parts like batteries, circuit boards, displays and other electrical components.
The patent comes just months after Apple defended itself over the durability of its 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus device.
Shortly after its public release, it was reported that the iPhone 6 Plus chassis was susceptible to bending under pressure; the iPhone 6 also appears to be affected by the issue. Although such problems are not exclusive to the iPhone 6 Plus, the design flaw came to be known as 'bendgate'.
Apple defended it stating that the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus went through durability testing to ensure they would stand up to daily use.
Flexibility is a key area of innovation for Apple as it strives to stay ahead of competition. Rival Samsung also has flexible phones in the works.
AAPL is trading at $106.34, up $0.09 or 0.08%, on a volume of 46.7 million shares on the Nasdaq.
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