Samsung is not the first year working on flexible display panels. The result of work began phablets Galaxy Note Edge and the Galaxy S6 edge. In the next stage of development of this technology, the manufacturer intends to release a foldable smartphone. According to Fool, the presentation device may be held in February of this year – at the event dedicated to the release of the new generation flagship smartphone of the South Korean brand.
The publication reports that Samsung is on the verge of official announcement of the world’s first smartphone with folding screen. The gadget is being developed under the code name “V” or “Valley”. According to some reports, the device has two displays. However, it is not clear whether they will be located on opposite sides of the body (like the YotaPhone) or Samsung chose different design options.
A prototype foldable AMOLED display was developed by Samsung in 2011. It is noteworthy that even then the development was conducted with a view to series production, which in the prototype used commercially available materials. Flexible OLED screen for smartphones and an example of its use was shown by Samsung at CES 2013.
Then Samsung introduced its first curved smartphone — an experimental model of Galaxy Round with a 5.7-inch screen on a plastic substrate. A year later came the phablet Galaxy Note Edge, which folded edge. In spring 2015, the company showed the Galaxy S6 edge. In comparison with the predecessor, the new “rounded” on both sides, but the angle was a little less. Edge, as before, may serve as a notification center.
Samsung has already issued a patent for a flexible smartphone: it is assumed that such a device the ability to deformation will have the whole structure and not just the screen. These developments can be also applied in the framework of the new project. Advantages of the foldable screen. First, it allows you to get a larger size and resolution than the screens that come with today’s smartphones, without increasing the dimensions of the phone. In addition, the OLED screen has its own advantages: it is very thin and lightweight, needs no illumination; it cannot be broken; the screen provides a high color reproduction and unattainable for LCD contrast.
Previously, market observers said about the possibility of commercialization of flexible smartphones in 2016. Samsung aims to become one of the pioneers of this trend. The release of the smartphone with a foldable screen according to the intention of the company, should allow it to gain the upper hand over Apple.
