LG Display today announced that it is set to begin mass production of what it bills as “the world’s first flexible OLED panel for smartphones.” Using plastic instead of glass, the company has managed to make the panel both bendable and unbreakable.
The 6-inch display is vertically concave from top to bottom with a radius of 700mm, about twice the curvature of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. It is only 0.44 millimeters thick and weighs only 7.2 grams.
“LG Display is launching a new era of flexible displays for smartphones with its industry-leading technology,” said Dr. Sang Deog Yeo, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of LG Display. “The flexible display market is expected to grow quickly as this technology is expected to expand further into diverse applications including automotive displays, tablets and wearable devices. Our goal is to take an early lead in the flexible display market by introducing new products with enhanced performance and differentiated designs next year.”
The press release makes no mention of any smartphone announcement this year, suggesting instead that we will see “new products with enhanced performance and differentiated designs next year.” But Reuters is the latest to report that LG will unveil its first smartphone with a flexible display in November. Earlier reports suggested that it would launch as the LG G Flex or the LG Z1 or LG Z.
Samsung is also expected to unveil its first smartphone with a flexible display in the coming days or weeks. Whereas the LG one bends vertically, the Samsung one will reportedly sport a side to side curvature.
Sources : LG Display // Reuters