Foldable screens, a fairly new technology, have been seeing a lot of innovation. And one of the top contenders in this race is Samsung.
In a recent patent filed by Samsung Display Co., Ltd. the company elaborates on one of its kind folding screens.
According to the patent, this screen will have the ability to be folded or rolled like a sheet of paper. It will be able to turn every which way and will have the capability of being deformed in various shapes. This will make it portable according to the users’ convenience. One may even be bold enough to make origami out of it.
This flexible display device may be classified under both rollable and foldable screens. The screen can be rolled both backward and forward. The screen can also be folded from the corners. Or folded in half from both front and back.
And apart from having the flexibility of an Olympic gold medal-winning gymnast, this screen also promises durability.
One of the kinks that companies are trying to work out of foldable displays is durability. Due to repeated bending, the windows used in flexible display devices get stressed repeatedly at the line of folding which makes it susceptible to breakage. Accordingly, there is a demand for developing screens that are durable despite such repeated bending.
In the patent, Samsung describes a window whose durability is increased to weather the repeated pressure on the screen.
This need for durability comes from the previous issues that the first iteration of the Samsung Galaxy Fold faced where the screens would break within a few days of usage, or have a visible line where the screen folds or see the display spasm or shut down after users removed, what they thought was a protective layer but was actually the phone’s screen.
But Samsung did take steps to reassure their customers and launched a promotion option called Buy and Try where users can “test drive” Galaxy Z Flip 5G or Galaxy Z Fold2 5G at a discounted price and use them for up to 100 days. And if the users aren’t happy with the performance of the phone they can return them.
Similar Patents By Samsung
Apart from this recent extraordinary screen invention, Samsung had previously filed patents for various other kinds of folding phones such as this rolling screen phone where the screen would be wound around and pulled out from a rolling pin placed in the base of the phone. Or the z-fold design phone where the screen can be folded from both ends.
And this high level of innovation had lead Samsung to the front of the folding screens race. And hence Samsung will reportedly be developing foldable displays for companies like OPPO, Xiaomi, and Google.
The screen being developed for Oppo will feature a 7.7-inch clamshell design screen which will fold from top to bottom. Xiaomi phones similarly will feature an in-folding design
Google on the other hand has requested Samsung to develop a foldable OLED panel with a 7.6-inch display. So, we may see Google Pixel Fold by the end of 2021.
These upcoming screens designed by Samsung will boast a resigned hinge that will not only support Flex Mode but also close the phone with zero-gap.
Other Notable Competitors
But despite their high levels of innovation, Samsung may see competition from other phone makers who have launched their own version of folding phones.
For instance, Motorola’s Razr 5G, which is the second version of the Motorola Razr. The original Razr phone which sold in the early 2000s was a sleek-looking phone with a flip design which the company managed to translate into a folding touch screen.
And going opposite to the clam-shell design is LG who plans on launching phones with a stretchable display by 2024. And true to their word, LG Display, a subsidiary of LG Electronics filed for multiple patent applications that discusses a Stretchable Display Device. According to the patents, the stretchable displays are being formed on flexible materials such as plastic.
LG had also previously launched LG Wing which is less of a foldable phone and more like a rotating one. Instead of opening up to reveal a second screen, the first screen swivels to reveal a second screen.
Apple too filed a patent application that talked about a folding phone titled “Folding Electronic Devices With Geared Hinges” so we may see a folding iPhone soon.
Conclusion
Samsung, since its initiation has been ahead of its competition. Along with mobile and electronics manufacturing, Samsung is acing in mobile communications system as one of the top 5G Companies. It began its research in 2011 and in 2013 developed the world’s first adaptive array transceiver technology which sits at the core of the 5G mobile communications system.
This just goes to show how the South Korean conglomerate is always one step ahead in its field and it’s safe to say that we may see the aforementioned invention and more come to life in the near future.
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