Flexible phones near one step closer to reality as Samsung is said to showcase world's first ever "stretchable" display at a U.S. tech-fair panel. This piece of information came all the way from North Korea, the homeland of the company.
Samsung is expected to showcase a 9.1-inch panel at the Society for Information Display 2017, which will take place in Los Angeles from May 23 to 25, reported the Korea Herald.
The display, that Samsung is supposed to show, could be used on wearables, foldable phones, and also in cars. According to the report, the "stretchable" display is capable of bending up tp 0.47 inch both ways and also it can be curved and rolled too along with bending.
"While current flexible OLED is able to [bend] on only one side, this stretchable OLED can be transformed — whether curved, bent or rolled — in both sides, above and below," a Samsung spokesperson told the Korea Herald.
However, the spokesperson also added that the technology is still in its nascent stages and more research and development are needed on the same. So as of now, it's not sure when will this technology be available for the consumers.
Already several companies have filed patents regarding stretchable and bendable display technologies. While Apple has submitted a patent in February this year for a stretchy "input/output device" — essentially, a stretchable iPhone, for a while now, Samsung is being rumored to be working on a "Galaxy X" smartphone that would expand into a tablet.
As per the industry watchers, the sales of the global flexible display market would rise from the 3.7 billion last year to a staggering $15.5 billion in 2022.
"The varieties of flexible displays include screens that are bendable, curved and edge-curved, but fully foldable form factors are expected within the next two years," said Jerry Kang, an analyst from the London-based research firm IHS Markit.
