[News] LG Innotek Files 30 Foldable Backplate Patents, Reportedly Eyeing Apple’s Future Devices

LG Innotek is reportedly strengthening its foldable technology portfolio through a series of backplate patent filings. According to ZDNet, the company has submitted 30 patent applications related to foldable display backplates, a move widely seen as positioning it for future supply opportunities in Apple’s foldable IT devices. Its affiliate, LG Display, is currently developing display panels for Apple’s foldable IT product lineup.

While Samsung Display is expected to be the exclusive panel supplier for Apple’s first foldable product launching in 2026, LG Display is aiming to secure panel orders for later-generation foldable IT products and has been investing in related technologies for several years.

Notably, Business Post reports that competition between Samsung Display and LG Display for Apple’s foldable OLED panel orders could begin as early as 2027. As Apple seeks to diversify its foldable OLED panel supply chain, LG Display is reportedly stepping up preparations to enter the foldable OLED market.

LG Innotek Builds Foldable Backplate Patent Portfolio

A backplate serves as the support structure between the OLED panel and the hinge in foldable devices, helping distribute the compressive and tensile stress generated during repeated folding and unfolding to reduce the load on the substrate, according to ZDNet.

As ZDNet points out, according to the Korea Intellectual Property Rights Information Service (KIPRIS), LG Innotek has filed patent applications with the Korean Intellectual Property Office since 2019 that include the term “elastic member” in their titles. The company filed its first related patent in the second half of 2019, when Samsung Electronics launched the Galaxy Fold, its first foldable smartphone.

Among the patent filings, a 2025 application (Application No. 10-2025-0055488) describes an elastic member for foldable display devices as a support substrate for the display and touch panels. According to ZDNet, the patent defines the elastic member as the backplate. It also states that the elastic member may be made from materials including metal, metal alloys, plastics, composite materials such as carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP), ceramics, sapphire, and glass.

Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics has adopted several backplate materials across its Galaxy Z Fold lineup, including stainless steel (SUS), carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP), and titanium. The ZDNet report notes that Samsung used CFRP backplates from the Galaxy Z Fold3 (2021) through the Galaxy Z Fold6 (2024), as the digitizer (flexible printed circuit board) required for S Pen support was incompatible with SUS. The company later switched to titanium backplates for the slimmer Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition introduced in 2024 and the Galaxy Z Fold7 released in 2025.

Read more

• [News] Apple Foldable Takes Shape as iOS 27 Reveals Flexible-Display Support; Smart Glasses Plans Also Emerge
• Apple to Adopt Next-Generation Display Color Standard, Accelerating the Transformation of OLED Emissive Material Systems, Says TrendForce

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