A speaker is a necessary part in an iPhone, MacBook or other device. Apple wants to make the space that such things take up as flexible as possible by letting them change shape. This is possible, for example, with ribs. 
Gonny van der Zwaag | iCulture.nl – 23 February 2023, 15:47 whatsappfacebooktwittertelegramlinkedinmailprint
In a newly discovered patent called ‘Flexible Speakers’ Apple is exploring the possibility of making speakers in all kinds of shapes. “Speakers with flexible components are easier to integrate into electronic devices such as headsets, laptops, smartphones and wearable devices,” said Apple. “Parts such as magnets, diaphragms and walls of a loudspeaker enclosure can be made flexible” so that they are easier to apply in a curved construction. That could be a HomePod, but you should probably think of a more compact device that barely has room for a speaker like an Apple Watch.
The patent is over 10,000 words and is registered to Chanjuan Feng and Paul X. Wang. Both previously worked on the speaker design of the 24-inch iMac. The patent does not mention many examples, but you can easily imagine that a speaker is needed in almost every Apple device. Sometimes Apple makes remarkable choices: for example, the speaker of the recently released Mac mini 2023 sounds worse than that of an Apple Watch. And that while Apple had enough space: the switch to Apple Silicon has made the housing of this device spacious enough.
How a flexible speaker should look like can be deduced from the drawings. It can be a curved shape, but also a variant with ribs, fitted with hinges. Other manufacturers have meanwhile come up with completely different solutions. For example, Sennheiser markets the Anakonda line (see photo at the top of this article), consisting of two meter long speaker hoses. These are as thick as a human arm and can be placed in irregularly shaped concert halls, for example.
Apple could take this idea by releasing speakers that look like a kind of light hose, but for audio. If it can take any form, anything is possible – although we do not expect Apple to come up with exotic shapes. However, a speaker could now be on the outside of a device.
The patent can be found here.
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