14 DAY TRIAL // It looks like Samsung is the spearhead that drives mobile display technology advancements, but that's not the only company that's looking into new types of panels that could be used in future smartphones.
Japan Display, Sharp, and a few other companies that supply mobile displays in the smartphone industry have their own R&D labs where they test new manufacturing methods that are less costly, yet more efficient.
Samsung is now focusing on developing the technology that will allow its production lines to make flexible displays for smartphones. Although rumor has it that the South Korean company is already capable of mass producing this type of displays, Samsung is still mum on the matter.
Today, a new report highlights another step that Samsung took towards fulfilling our dreams, that of having a working foldable smartphone in our hands.
Samsung has just been granted a new flexible display patent that can be used in future flexible and foldable smartphones. The patent has been filed at USPTO (U.S. Patent and Trademark Office) and shows how a display can bend and even allow smartphones to fold without the screen breaking.
According to Samsung, the patented display that might or might not be ready for mass production includes a flexible substrate made of a plastic material with amazing properties like high heat resistance and durability.
This isn't the first patent concerning flexible display technology that Samsung is granted, so it's impossible to say what impact will have on the smartphone industry yet.
However, it's nice to know that companies are actively looking to bring new technologies into the market, technologies that are meant to make user experience more enticing.
We doubt that the flexible display technology will be ready for mass market in 2017, but we can clearly say that we're not too far away from the first commercial flexible or foldable smartphone.
