Over the last few years, many device makers have been
flirting with the idea of rolling out flexible displays on its handheld
devices, but no other company has been most outspoken about it than Samsung. At
the Consumer Electronic Show, the company showed off its new generation of
bendable displays, which have a huge potential for changing the traditional
form factor of smartphones.
The new flexible display was introduced under the YOUM brand of
AMOLED displays introduced last year. The new displays are purported to be
extremely flexible, while at the same time durable and extra-crisp. It is the
glass that prevents most displays from folding: by getting rid of it, and
replacing it with TFT layers and what Samsung calls “film-based encapsulation”,
it is possible to make screens that aren’t only extremely bendable, but are
also incredibly resistant.
Those expecting a phone that they can bend or fold might be
disappointed: at least from the latest demo, the folded display is tied to a
canvas. However, the potential of a screen that’s not plain allows, for
example, for a separate notifications area, which is completely independent
from the main display. It could also be used as a multi-tasking panel, which
would make it much easier to switch between apps, something that hasn’t fully
been figured out on mobile devices as of yet.
Samsung is also promising to greatly increase the resolution of
future displays, while greatly improving their energy efficiency. Scheduled to
reach production in the 1st quarter of this year is a 4.99-inch “full HD”
screen, running at 1080p at 440ppi, while consuming 25% less power than its
720p predecessor, in part thanks to the use of better materials. These changes
are likely to make their way straight into the next-generation Galaxy S Android
smartphone, which is widely known as the Samsung Galaxy S IV.
There is no clear indication as to whether Samsung will include
the new foldable displays with the next-generation Galaxy S: while plans were in
place to begin production last year, recent reports are alleging that this may
have been postponed, forcing Samsung to focus on plain old, standard AMOLED
displays with glass as its primary component. However, the improvements in
battery usage are likely to be incorporated into standard displays for the time
being.
Stay tuned for more news on the Galaxy S IV as the announcement
date draws near. [RedmondPie]
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