Display apparatus and method of fabricating display apparatus

A method of fabricating a display apparatus, comprising:

• forming a display panel comprising a display portion in a display region, a connecting portion, and a bending portion connecting the display portion and the connecting portion, wherein a flexible base substrate extends throughout the display portion, the bending portion and the connecting portion as a unitary structure that is substantially flat;
• forming a back film covering a surface of the flexible base substrate;
• removing a portion of the back film in a region having the bending portion, thereby forming a first back film covering a surface of the connecting portion and a second back film covering a surface of the display portion;
• bending the bending portion so that the first back film is facing the second back film, thereby forming a bending cavity that is surrounded by the bending portion;
• providing a support layer between the display portion and the connecting portion;
• covering a surface of the display portion facing the connecting portion using a second back film;
• providing a metal plate between the support layer and the display portion;
• providing a cover window on a first side of the display portion;
• and
• providing a metal support layer between the metal plate and the second back film;
• wherein the support layer is provided to form a stress-reducing space having a first side wall comprising a first exposed surface of a first exposed portion of the first back film, a second side wall comprising a second exposed surface of a second exposed portion of the metal plate, and a third side wall comprising a first surface of the support layer;
• and
• the stress-reducing space is open to the bending cavity;
• wherein an orthographic projection of the connecting portion on the cover window is non-overlapping with an orthographic projection of the bending portion on the cover window;
• the display apparatus comprises a stacked structure in the display region;
• in at least a first portion of the stacked structure, the first back film, the stress-reducing space, the metal plate, the metal support layer, and the second back film are present, and the support layer is absent;
• and
• the stress-reducing space is adjacent to the bending portion.