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LG Announces Mass Production of Flexible OLED Phone Displays
Zothecula writes "LG today announced that it is to start mass producing flexible OLED display panels for smartphones. The company says that its technology uses plastic substrates rather than glass, and claims that a protective film on the back of the display makes it 'unbreakable' as well as bendable."
So what is the use case if we still have a glass plate in front of the display?
If no glass plate this thing would be scratched to hell and back in a couple minutes.
Just sayin'
TFA is so sparse on details that it's painful.
After rounding, there's roughly zero information about this in the linked "article."
While a quick Google search fails me, I'm not sure what the consumer product definition of "unbreakable" is, but I'm pretty sure it means you can absolutely break it under all sorts of conditions -- just not a narrowly defined set for a specific period of time.
Since they are outdated in 6-12 months there is no need to make the devices self destruct.
Even folks who keep smartphones an unusual amount of time do not generally exceed 24-36 months.
I have never shattered a screen, the worst I have done are very small scratches that cannot be seen with the display on. Try not dropping them so often.
Even if you put glass in front of it, this lets manufacturers of devices use the display in varying configurations with more or less curvature without needing a custom display solution. One company might use it flat, another highly curved, and they don't need expensive custom displays.
Are you willing to put money on that LG? Every time a manufacturer claims that their screen is "unbreakable", they get embarrassed by the first guy who really puts effort into it.
I read the internet for the articles.
I believe the response you're looking for is "challenge accepted."
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
Then I can change my design to suit me, as often as I like.
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
It's for making iWatches. Not some huge mystery there. You thought the idea was that the display would be END USER flexible?! No, it's flexible as pertains to production. With a flat display you can only make a watch "that" big, you need something that curves naturally around your wrist.
Steve Jobs thought about using plastic, in fact one of the prototype iPhones had a plastic screen. He rejected it because of the cheap feel of the plastic, and went with the Gorilla Glass that he used in original iPhones. So I guess it's down to, do you want an indestructible phone screen, or do you want one that feels good?
And, btw, not an Apple fan boy here, I just happened to read Jobs bio by Walter Isaacson, he covered Jobs' choice in fair detail in the book.
-- "In order to have power, I must be taken seriously." -Mojo Jojo
It usually means under normal, expected use. For a phone, I would include dropping it from heights up to five or six feet, sitting on it, etc. I would not expect it to hold up to a sledgehammer or being run over by a car. It might hold up to that kind of intentional/abnormal abuse, but I wouldn't have the expectation that it would.
When will someone take this technology and make us a full page (8 1/5 x 11 inch) tablet? This seems like an obvious thing to do with a display tech that is lighter, flexible, and strong. I want something to read pdf files without having to find a magnifying glass.
Twenda Learning: Educational Apps that Engage.
Why did Jobs assume Apple users would be fondling their screens?
So I guess it's down to, do you want an indestructible phone screen, or do you want one that feels good?
And if you're selling the replacement parts, 'breakable' isn't a bad option.
That aside, there are some 'self-healing' plastic coatings that I'd be interested in seeing on a cell phone. I pretty much don't care how it feels - I just want it to work well and be low-maintenance. Actually I'm pretty sure all my monochrome cell phones had screens with plastic coatings, and I never balked at how cheap they felt, I just used them to make phone calls.
I'd love to see $30 smart phones on the horizon - plastic-sandwiched OLED could help there. I realize Apple won't be in that business, but I can think of a few billion people in the world who could use one.
My God, it's Full of Source!
OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
Um, because it's a touch screen.
-- "In order to have power, I must be taken seriously." -Mojo Jojo
Yes but how can we work towards throwing things away EVEN FASTER??
2 days ought to be enough for anyone to own any product, is what I'm thinking.
I want to coat my chopsticks in this OLED stuff so I can watch "The Fly" at a sushi joint!
Have you fscked your local propeller head today?
Well, there ya go! This proves flexible displays are bad! Jobbo said it!
I've never shattered a screen either, but that doesn't mean that it's an uncommon problem.
Required reading for internet skeptics
Well I have a few times but then those were on older phones and I stopped having the problem when I got a flip phone. That and both times were while working on vehicles where the phone inadvertently ended up being what I was leaning on.
Time to offend someone
or being run over by a car. It might hold up to that kind of intentional/abnormal abuse, but I wouldn't have the expectation that it would.
Some of us have higher standards than you.
Even folks who keep smartphones an unusual amount of time do not generally exceed 24-36 months.
I think you have a very strange idea of what the "usual" replacement cycle is. At least in the US, nearly everyone keeps their phone for 2 years, since that is the length of the standard contract to get the "subsidized" rate. Personally, I know no one that ditches their phone (and takes a multi-hundred dollar hit) every 6-12 months. That might be different in other circles of course, but my sample is young-ish engineers who have both the interest and cash to do it if they really wanted to.
you realize this is not talking about the screen, but the display UNDER the glass right? while I doubt we'll see flexible devices for a long time, I could see curved displays becoming more and more popular. people talking about curved display iphones and android will finally become feasible, of course the glass on top will still be glass, for the reasons you've suggested. using plastic as the display has it's own issues, but your concern about it having a cheap feel, well that's completely ignorant of the article and the technology. the outer glass is NOT the display. look at your computer LCD, chances are it has a plastic film over the glass display. this technology replaces the glass with plastic.
Again. the Gorilla Glass will still be laminated on top of the display, this allows for cheaper manufacture, and even curved displays. imagine a big screen concave tv, just like the projector screens in movie theatres. allowing for better display angles. That's where this will become very good technology. or convex displays, or even wrap-around displays, like it seems many rumour mills keep talking about the next great phone having. Glass won't go away for touch surfaces for a long time.
Curved or flexible phones will be a fad that ends quickly.
Consider the uselessness of a touch devices with a concave or floppy limp screen?
While a curved phone works great for making a call by holding it up to your face, MOST people don't use phones in this way anymore. The smartphone is no longer a "phone" platform, its a computing device with a telephony feature.
Focusing too much on making the "call" feature of a smartphone, when it already works great anyways with a flat surface, will only make the other 99% of the features more annoying to use.
I do think there is a market for curved screens in other markets, but for phones its a pointlessly vain design choice.
I haven't thought of anything clever to put here, but then again most of you haven't either.
That aside, there are some 'self-healing' plastic coatings that I'd be interested in seeing on a cell phone. I pretty much don't care how it feels - I just want it to work well and be low-maintenance.
Nissan makes a self-healing clear coat for their cars, I wonder how difficult it would be to use the substance on a flexible, plastic screen.
I'd love to see $30 smart phones on the horizon - plastic-sandwiched OLED could help there.
Eff that, wake me when someone starts marketing these
An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
Challenge accepted.
It's better to vote for what you want and not get it than to vote for what you don't want and get it.
- E. Debs
but I couldn't find a good enough lawyer to take it.
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The 'curved display' that initially comes to my mind is VR headsets.
"Think about how stupid the average person is. Now, realise that half of them are dumber than that." - George Carlin
Sir, God himself could not break this smartphone!
Competitive advantage. Better to sell one phone that lasts forever, than no phone, because it failed to be seen as superior to a competing product. Besides phones are obsoleted every year or two anyway.
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