News & Reviews:   foldable display

It seems every brand wants to make a foldable device these days and Apple is no exemption. There have been rumours about a future iPhone with a foldable display that will feature a patented folding mechanism. Now, sources claim that there's already a planned release window for the device.

Just two days ago, it was reported that Samsung and LG will stop supplying their OLED displays to Huawei after 15 September. While that doesn't sound too good for the China smartphone brand, we also got some leaked information that Samsung could be supplying foldable screen panels to Apple.

The cancellation of MWC this year meant that we didn't get the chance to see a lot of new things. But TCL is making up for lost opportunity with the reveal of dummy units for its latest concept devices. One of them is the phone with an extendable screen that we saw a few weeks back, while the other is a tri-fold device.

Foldable devices are the hot stuff this year but TCL has something else in mind. Reports with leaked images of a new smartphone by TCL shows a device with an extendable screen. It's still a form of foldable display, just not the type we've come to expect.

Samsung have forged ahead as the leader in flexible display devices with the Samsung Galaxy S6 edge and S6 edge+ but rumours now indicate that we could see a device with a flexible display that can be folded in January 2016. Following Samsung's previous flexible display timeline, 2016 and 2017 should be the year that such devices come to light. It isn't the first time such rumours have come out nor will it be the last but since it does follow the internal timeline document we expect it to be somewhat accurate. Nonetheless, do take this with a good dose of salt. No Malaysia release dates or pricing details but we expect it to be exorbitantly expensive based on previous pricing of the Galaxy Note Edge which was the first device with a bended curved display. 

It isn't a secret that flexible paper thin screens exist, but the reality is that devices with such screens could be coming sooner than you think. Researchers at the Human Media Lab of Queen's University, Canada have proven this with the PaperFold device which is paper-thin, foldable, flexible, can be detached and reattached to other electrophoretic displays or touchscreens and function as a smartphone, tablet and notebook. While the displays on the screens are still black and white and not very high in resolution, they show off remarkable functionality. Check out the video in this article for a glimpse of the future.

Samsung is one of only 2 major makers of flexible displays in the world and has since dominated the smartphone world with it's various smartphone models. Following a roadmap image at one of their presentations, it appears that Samsung may come out with foldable smartphones from 2015. It also appears that more curved display devices are on the way as the road map notes that curved displays will range from 2013 to early 2014 and bended displays will follow after in 2014 to 2015. While Samsung did not elaborate on what it defines as bended or foldable, it does show an example of a bended display graphic which sort of rolls the display. We assume that if it is foldable, this means you can flatten it down so it forms a crease, making for a thinner device. Samsung also went on to show how such foldable display devices might work and even came up with an interesting foldable (or is it bended?) concept device video which appears to be nothing much more than a thin sheet of foldable plastic. Check out the pics and video for yourself in this article.