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."

Comments

What is the point of this?

[h4rr4r]

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.

Re:What is the point of this?

[decipher_saint]

Maybe the idea is to make fixed but not flat screen.

Fancy digital watch smartphone hybrid things?

How long before iBall is what I want to know lol

Re:What is the point of this?

[mythosaz]

True.

It's a trade off.

Right now, if you want flexible, you're likely going to have to deal with less clear screen than glass.
If you want to protect that flexible screen, you're likely going to have to deal with some sort of rubberized coating as well. ...but your objection to Ghost Armor (and other similar products) is purely opinion. My HTC One is sufficiently pretty behind a matte front. I'm not doing graphics illustration or crime scene forensics on my display, so the minimally-diminished display doesn't hurt me.

It's a trade off.

Re:What is the point of this?

[RenderSeven]

Name one flexible material that is transparent and as hard as glass?

Transparent aluminum? Its even possible that I invented it.

Re:What is the point of this?

[mythosaz]

It's about choice.

Sure. Just give me a phone with the same processing power, the ability to take a call in speakerphone mode in a loud car, a screen large enough for my should-wear-bifocals eyes, and a non-carrier-based, unlocked-out-of-the-box stock from-Google ROM. It's a short list, and I picked the HTC.

I prefer being able to keep my phone in a pocket with my keys and not worry about scratching the screen. You seem to be having a different experience, but I'm willing to sacrifice a TINY bit of screen clarity for a good deal of protection for my phone.

People who want a flexible screen will enjoy not having a phone that shatters as often when dropped and will be willing to sacrifice some clarity over hard-glass screens for it.

Re:What is the point of this?

[Baloroth]

Name one flexible material that is transparent and as hard as glass?

Well, glass for one. Seriously, Corning has a flexible glass called Willow Glass, probably because they saw flexible and curved OLED displays coming (it's probably not as hard as Gorilla Glass, but then, what do you expect from flexible glass).

Re:What is the point of this?

[h4rr4r]

Your fingers are not as clean as you think. I had phones before the current glass screen craze and they all scratched. You can get cheap android phones with plastic displays, they get scratched quite quickly.

Re:What is the point of this?

[CCarrot]

Aluminosilicate glass. Try scratching a modern smartphone display, keys are not going to do it.

Sure! Hey, can I borrow your phone for a sec? :)

TFA

[mythosaz]

TFA is so sparse on details that it's painful.

After rounding, there's roughly zero information about this in the linked "article."

Re:Wait... a phone which lasts?

[h4rr4r]

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.

Challenge accepted.

[Overzeetop]

I believe the response you're looking for is "challenge accepted."

I want a shirt made of this...

[ackthpt]

Then I can change my design to suit me, as often as I like.

Re:Wait... a phone which lasts?

[MozeeToby]

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.

Re:Another Why?

[CanHasDIY]

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?

Agreed - the idea of a phone that's not flat comes off as kind of silly.

Now, a convex screen that somewhat follows the contour of, say, a forearm? Now that is an idea that might gain some useful traction - a smartwatch that doesn't look like someone glued a wrist strap to a handful of LEGO bricks might just have a market.

Unbreakable

[TheSpoom]

Challenge accepted.