LG's new foldable display tech could mean big trouble for Samsung

Concluding updated: September 8th, 2021 at 10:48 UTC+01:00

LG may not be competing in the smartphone market anymore but like Samsung, information technology has other divisions that produce key components for mobile devices. LG Chem has announced a new foldable display material that it claims to be superior to existing glass-type materials, the kind that Samsung uses.

The company claims that its new foldable brandish coating is able to brand the panels as difficult as drinking glass while retaining the flexibility of plastic. Information technology even says that the crease on the foldable panel won't be equally noticeable as it is on existing materials.

LG is coming after Samsung's lead in foldable displays

The Ultra-Thin Glass panels that Samsung uses for the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3 are protected with a stretchable PET or plastic film. Samsung does say that it'due south eighty% tougher than the previous model.

LG is calling its new material 'Real Folding Window." It doesn't rely on glass at all. This new cloth is a coating that'south simply a few dozen micrometres thick. Information technology's practical to both sides of a PET film to meliorate its heat resistance and mechanical properties.

The PET flick, which is thinner than existing glass solutions like Samsung's UTG, is so able to achieve the aforementioned level of hardness without cracking on the screen and a less prominent pucker. LG Chem says that the coated film is durable to withstand being folded over 200,000 times. That'southward likewise the benchmark Samsung uses for its foldable panels.

This film will be the cover fabric that'south practical to a flexible OLED panel. LG says it's going to be more competitive on price and suitable for a diverseness of devices including smartphones, tablets, laptops and rollable brandish phones.

The company points out that while existing cover materials are optimized for in-folding devices, like Samsung's foldables, the Existent Folding Window is also suitable for devices that fold outward.

It's going to be a while earlier this new display technology hits the market. The company says it plans to start full-scale product in 2023. LG Chem is even working on new technologies that would enable it to produce a thin Real Folding Window with just the coating solitary without requiring the PET motion picture.

This is going to be a challenge for Samsung as the company wants to ramp up production of its foldable panels to supply other manufacturers who want to make foldable smartphones. Google is expected to be one of Samsung's clients.

A cheaper and potentially easier to manufacture alternative from LG would threaten the advantage Samsung has gained so far. It would too button the company to compete on price. Consumers would win in the cease, though, equally this will aid bring downward the price of foldable smartphones in the hereafter.