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LG Display has reportedly signed deals on foldable OLED displays with three of the largest technology companies out there, namely Microsoft, Apple, and Google, all of which are said to be planning on bringing these panels on their future devices.
A report from etnews reveals that LG Display has already developed a prototype of a foldable display and this convinced companies like Microsoft and Apple to sign deals with the company that would have all of them invest into improving the tech.
Not much is known about the collaboration because of the confidential nature of the deals, but the aforementioned source claims that LG Display is trying to gain an early advantage in its race against Samsung Display, which is investing in foldable panels as well.
What’s important to note, however, is that production of this new display technology is not scheduled to start until 2018, which means that the first devices featuring it could only see daylight in late 2018 or early 2019.
Apple has been looking into foldable displays for years, and the company even has several patents, but for the moment, Cupertino is yet to step into this side of the market because it’s believed that the technology is still in its early days and it’s not evolved enough to be mass produced.
New Microsoft product categories
On the other hand, Microsoft seems to be looking at foldable displays as a potential ingredient for inventing new product categories, a thing that the company has been investing in with its Surface lineup. Devices like the Surface Pro, the Surface Book, and Surface Studio have all been used to invent new categories, and Microsoft might be looking into doing the same thing with foldable displays.
LG’s technology is specifically designed to be used on phones and tablets, but this doesn’t mean that Microsoft’s eagerly-anticipated Surface Phone will adopt it. Most likely, Microsoft could use it for a new Surface model, if it ever sees daylight - the Surface Phone is projected to launch in the fall of 2017, so foldable displays won’t be ready in time for this debut.
No company commented on these new rumors pointing to investments in foldable displays, but it goes without saying that more information will emerge in the coming months, as all three tech giants are going forward with their long-term plans focusing on this type of panel.