While Samsung has publicly stated that it wants to experiment with ways to get more screen space in its devices, such as foldable or more exotic ones like the Galaxy Z Fold 5, Apple has so far stuck with traditional display technology.

However, the company is clearly looking to the future, with a foldable iPhone said to be available in 2025.

Found by Patently Apple, Apple describes an electronic device with a housing to house an expandable scrolling display. Whether this is for a cell phone, tablet, or Mac is unclear, and Apple remains vague, as it has with rollable applications in the past.

It can be used in both extended and retracted mode (the latter just has more screen), and the following images taken by the site show the different angles possible.

This is not a million miles away from other scrollable phone prototypes we have seen, and a very appealing idea is that you can have something that fits in your pocket, is not too unwieldy, and has the ability to provide more screen when needed

The idea is to have something that can be used in the pocket, that is not too unwieldy, and that has the ability to provide more screen when needed.

Importantly, although we have seen quite a few prototypes, no phones with this technology are commercially available yet, suggesting that this technology is not yet ready for the mainstream. While the durability of folding phones is questionable due to the limited number of folds they can withstand, the moving parts of such technology could be vulnerable in an entirely different way.

In other words, Apple may turn to more tried-and-true methods of expanding screen space. At least initially.

In the past, Apple has been slow to adopt cutting-edge new features, choosing to wait until they are mature enough to be smoothly integrated (e.g., Face ID). Screen expansion and folding seems to be following a similar trajectory, and Apple will be very late to the party when something comes along.

Reportedly, even Samsung is betting on Apple's arrival in this area next year, and we shouldn't have to wait much longer. But it may not be the device you're expecting; it has been suggested that Apple will first test the waters with a folding iPad.

That seems crazy, given that the iPhone has always been one of the best-selling electronic devices in the world. However, launching the iPad first may prove to be a safer (and better way to get the technology into a manageable number of hands, since fewer people are buying iPads) and smart business sense.

Less than 30% of the world's population uses iPhones, but Apple holds a huge 55% share of the tablet market. The theoretical foldable iPad should eat other foldable tablets like the Asus Zenbook Fold and Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold for breakfast. However, it is difficult to predict how the foldable iPhone will fare against the venerable Samsung and Motorola models, which have been improved over generations.

Of course, the line between tablet and phone is becoming increasingly blurred anyway, and there really isn't much difference between the iPad mini 6 and Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 3, as our comparison photos show.

Unless, of course, Apple is thinking of producing a 12.9-inch iPad Pro that can be folded in half for easy portability in another way. We will see which way Apple chooses to go in the next couple of years.