14 DAY TRIAL // The next big thing in the smartphone world will be flexible devices that can transform into tablets, offering a much larger display. However, for this type of new devices, smartphone makers must find solutions for a flexible display.
Japan Display has announced the development of Full Active Flex screen, which uses a plastic substrate for both sides of the liquid crystal layer. The new type of screen was incorporated into a 5.5-inch Full HD LCD display for smartphones.
Japan Display’s Full Active Flex can easily form curved shapes by using its flexible features, which would give OEMs more leeway when designing new phones. In addition, the new display comes with plastic substrates instead of glass, which provide it with more durability and resistance in case the display is dropped.
Mass production is set to start in 2018
The new display also provides lower power consumption for mobile devices due to its low-frequency driving technology. The resolution density is 401ppi, while contrast ratio reaches 1500:1 for the new display.
Japan Display intends to start mass production of this new display in 2018 and the company is considering incorporating the new screen into smartphones, notebook PCs, and various other devices. Japan Display’s new screen will compete directly against Samsung’s flexible OLED displays, which are said to be featured in upcoming flexible smartphones to be developed by the Korean smartphone maker.
Indeed, Samsung is rumored to announce a flexible smartphone in 2018, the year in which many other companies are said to reveal similar devices in a competition to be the first OEM to announce a flexible phone.
Japan Display has said that it already has customers for the new screen, but hasn’t revealed who they are. Apple has long been rumored to feature an OLED display on the upcoming iPhone 8, and perhaps such a screen could be the Full Active Flex that Japan Display just announced.