In addition to unveiling a display today that could give the iPad 3 a Retina Display, Samsung has just debuted a new foldable AMOLED display that could be used to make your next iPad fit into your pocket, your next iPhone an iFlipPhone.
We’ve seen foldable mobile displays before as far back as 2008, when Samsung first showcased a foldable OLED mobile phone. The big drawback, though, was the ugly hinge and the huge line that ran through the middle of the display.
Back to the drawing board, and now, Samsung’s got it right. Using a formula of super-elastic silicone rubber, two protective glass panels and as many AMOLED displays, Samsung’s new screen fit together seamlessly with no hideous, display-marring crease.
The tech is super versatile: Samsung’s engineers have been able to fold the display over 100,000 times with only a 6 percent lost in brightness at the crease to show for things. Better, all the parts are cheap and available.
Apple doesn’t currently source iOS displays from Samsung, and they’ve yet to use an AMOLED display in one of their mobile devices. Still, despite their ongoing legal scuffle, Apple is Samsung’s biggest customer, and it’s hard to believe that the South Korean electronics maker wouldn’t sell Apple a foldable AMOLED display for use in future iPhones and iPads if Cupertino wanted one.
It’s an interesting prospect. Much has been said and rumored about Apple’s iPhone nano, but imagine instead an iPhone that could fold up on itself into a smaller size, or an iPad that could fold up to fit into your pocket while also protecting the display while its collapsed onto its.
It’s enough to make an Apple lover swoon.
[via Gizmodo]
John Brownlee is a writer for Fast Company, and a contributing writer here at CoM. He has also written for Wired, Playboy, Boing Boing, Popular Mechanics, VentureBeat, and Gizmodo. He lives in Boston with his wife and two parakeets. You can follow him here on Twitter.
26 responses to “Future iPhones Might Be Flip Phones, Future iPads Might Fit In Your Pocket [Displays]”
I don’t do flip or slider phones. I want my screen A4 size
sometimes I wonder if you guys think before you publish stuff.. theres no way apple is going to take its signature looking, amazing stylish phone, and ruin it by making it a flip phone..
Yeah.
Apple never innovates or changes their product designs. They’ll keep all of their products with the same designs forever. Apple is never the first to do anything “different.”
@Jon: Yeah no flip phones i agree 4″ makes brosing the web much better.
Samsung isn’t stupid. AMOLED is their proprietary tech. They aren’t going to just give it to anyone. Especially with apple setting up it’s little legal stunt….
Samsung isn’t the only one in the OLED business: http://www.universaldisplay.co…
Hmmm very interesting article. So tell me, does this new foldable screen by Samsung mean a greater chance of Pegatron workers being poisoned during the manufacturing process?
Apple is NOT Samsung’s “biggest customer”
That title belongs to Sony.
Apple is Samsung’s second biggest customer.
After some of the nonsense that’s been coming out of Cult Of Mac lately, I may very well unsubscribe; It pays to do some simple fact checking rather than spreading FUD.
But Samsung is the only one with the vast majority of patent FOR OLED. Now with flexible OLED. They have the biggest R&D in terms of OLED research.
To the Author,
Not everything that Samsung makes goes into Apple’s products.
This just shows you how much ahead Samsung in terms of components.
Apple is dependent on Samsung for parts innovations.
Samsung can always stick with its own CE division to provide exclusive components, just like how its doing with the Super AMOLED. No one else besides the Samsung CE division has access to these displays.
New flash:
Samsung develops carbon fiber batteries.
Breaking news:
Apple to have carbon fiber batteries will call it Carbon Xtenze.
LOL – I like the way you define innovates……
Taking a screen developed by another company?
(rolls eyes)
God I hope the Sammy fanboys aren’t as stupid and annoying as Fandroids and iSheep.
This seems like a very nice operating system, it contains many features which others don’t have and it supports many features and applications too.
Buy Mobile phones