日经称苹果折叠机 iPhone Duo 或带动日本材料供应商，但未确认任何苹果订单

TOKYO -- Apple's entry into the foldable smartphone market may offer more opportunities for Japanese suppliers that have worked since the feature phone era to make their materials and parts more compact and lightweight.
The thin frames of foldable handsets leave limited space for components, and the display and other parts need to withstand repeated bending. These requirements mean a greater need for slimmer, more durable components.
During Japan's feature phone boom in the early 2000s, manufacturers such as NEC competed on such advances. Flexible printed circuits and technologies for cramming more parts into smaller spaces supported the evolution of handsets.
Nitto Denko is stepping up production of optically clear adhesive (OCA), which is applied to organic light-emitting diode displays and the glass covering them. It is investing 39 billion yen ($253 million) in a new production facility slated to start up in fiscal 2028 that will make OCA as well as electrical release tape, used to hold batteries in place.
The number of companies worldwide that can mass-produce OCA is limited. While Nitto Denko has not disclosed whether it has received orders from Apple, it does supply OCA to Chinese manufacturers.
"We're in a position where makers of high-end smartphones come to us," President Tatsuya Akagi said. The company aims to double OCA revenue over the next five years.
Samsung Electronics is a leading player in flexible OLED panels. For the cover glass, demand is expected to grow for bendable panels that are thinner than a human hair. U.S.-based Corning and Germany's Schott are the two top names in this field, but Nippon Electric Glass has developed highly durable glass and is tapping demand from Chinese customers.
Though American and Taiwanese companies control much of the market for folding phone hinges, Japan has a strong presence in related materials. JX Advanced Metals says it has seen increased interest in copper foil for flexible printed circuits, of which folding smartphones contain more per handset.
Semiconductor material maker JSR is developing different types of materials that can withstand bending to increase the supply of insulating films for folding phone touch panels.
TDK is moving to mass-produce its energy-dense next-generation smartphone batteries, anticipating higher demand to meet the increased power needs of folding smartphones due to their larger screens and ability to run multiple apps at once.
Global shipments of folding smartphones are expected to jump 24% this year to 24.3 million, according to Yoshio Tamura, Japan country manager at Hong Kong's Counterpoint Research. The firm expects Apple to ship as many as 6 million units of its new iPhone Duo, making it the market's second-largest driver behind Samsung.
The existing market centers largely on Samsung and Huawei Technologies, which have strong supply chains in their home countries of South Korea and China.
"The entry of Apple, with its wide-ranging supply network, will create more opportunities for Japanese manufacturers," Tamura said.