Samsung is being anticipated to introduce foldable phones sometime next year. The South Korean tech giant is still working on the technology but there seems to be a significant progress now that a prototype for a rollable display is ready. Such display was showcased recently at the SID 2016 event in San Francisco, capturing the attention of the event goers. Samsung Display’s latest OLED technology is given a different form. This time, into a more portable and pocket-friendly size that will hopefully bring some changes in the mobile industry.
The rollable display is a 5.7-inch screen when laid flat. It boasts of a Full HD 1920 x 1080 resolution, 386 ppi, vivid colors, and Galaxy S7 edge-like brightness. It rolls up into small metal stick on the side. The panel is only 0.33mm thick thin and is very light at only 5g. You can “roll” the screen into a small tube with a 10mm radius.
[youtbue EX3_sSwiWIk]
This demo is possible because the panel is very thin. However, it still doesn’t include the layer that makes it touchscreen. The touch layer isn’t added yet so we’re not sure how Samsung will be able to make it possible. It’s easy to add the layer but we have yet to know its flexibility.
Samsung also showed off another panel that is also 0.3mm think but with 551 ppi, 2560 x 1440 resolution, and 420 nits of brightness. There is no mention how many unrollings can the display take but we’re not expecting it to be perfect. There will be some wear-and-tear at some point but let’s reserve that for future stress tests.
Everything here is only a concept but at least we have a prototype to tell us a flexible, rollable, or foldable display is possible. It’s only a matter of time but it might take a while. We’re not doubting Samsung but this one seems to be complicated. So yes, let’s just wait and see.
VIA: SlashGear
