14 DAY TRIAL // Galaxy S5, the upcoming flagship Android-based device from South Korean mobile phone maker Samsung, will not be launched with a curved touchscreen, the latest reports on the matter suggest.
Apparently, the company won’t be able to produce enough curved panels to meet demand for the device, Korea Herald claims, citing industry sources.
Kim Jong-hyun, an analyst at Seoul-based Eugene Investment & Securities, suggests that Samsung will be able to ramp up production of the curved display only in late 2013.
“The current capacity for flexible panels is not high enough for the Galaxy S5, which will be rolled out early next year. Curved ones will be unveiled late next year as a Galaxy variant rather than as a flagship model,” Kim Jong-hyun reportedly said.
Apparently, the company decided to delay any further investment in the production of curved displays for the next year.
At the moment, Samsung is capable of producing around 500,000 flexible panels for smartphones each month, with a 30 percent yield. Towards the end of the next year, it should be able to double production, said report claims.
Furthermore, the news site says that Samsung will not be able to sell more than 50,000 Galaxy Round smartphones in South Korea.
Both Samsung and LG are said to have issues meeting demand for curved displays at the moment, which means that other mobile phone makers out there will also have a hard time adopting the technology.
Apparently, Samsung can produce the largest amount of curved panels at the moment, with LG and other competitors still far behind.
This means that Apple, previously rumored to plan on adopting such a screen for iPhone 6, will have to reconsider the move, John Seo, an analyst at Shinhan Investment, suggests.
“It is difficult for Apple to adopt curved display next year, though 2015 is more plausible,” he said. However, no official confirmation on this has emerged until now, so stay tuned for more on the matter.