Roger Fingas
Presenting an alternative to the OLED screens devised by companies like Samsung, Apple supplier Japan Display on Wednesday announced plans to start making flexible LCDs in 2018.
The new LCDs replace a glass layer with plastic, the Wall Street Journal explained. The COO of Japan Display, Shuji Aruga, noted that while the technology isn't as flexible as OLED panels, it should be enough to build a curved screen similar to Samsung's Galaxy S7 Edge.
Officials with the company noted that several smartphone makers have already agreed to adopt flexible LCDs, though their names are being kept confidential. Beyond phones, Japan Display is hoping to sell panels for uses such as laptops and cars.
Japan Display has struggled to compete against rival suppliers in China and Korea, and has been relatively slow to adopt OLED. In December it received a major financial bailout, part of which it dedicated to buying a controlling stake in Joled, an OLED firm created out of units formerly belonging to Sony and Panasonic.
Apple could be one of the anonymous clients for the new LCD technology, but if so, it may use it in secondary product lines. This year's top-end iPhone — nicknamed the "iPhone X" or "iPhone 8" — is expected to use a curved Samsung OLED panel, possibly measuring 5.8 inches. The Apple Watch already uses OLED, which might relegate flexible LCDs to iPads, iPods, and/or MacBooks.
Mid-tier iPhones might be a possibility, assuming the company doesn't migrate its entire iPhone lineup to OLED. 2017 devices may include two "iPhone 7s" models with flat, 4.7- and 5.5-inch LCDs, so equivalent models could theoretically appear in 2018.
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8 Comments
So in short, we're not going to see it in a 7s, or an 8, but maybe something beyond 8. Or preferably an entirely different product.
A flexible screen makes a little more sense in a tablet, but the underlying battery, pcb, and chasis is not flexible, so a lot of "flexible screens" are meaningless. Flexible screens are meant for literal "flexible" computers, like watchbands, cuffs, and tube/sphere/cone shaped surfaces that aren't necessarily information devices but decorative props.
Here come the predictions of the return of the flip phone—a form factor that was an evolutionary dead-end. Supporters would have you believe that it lost out only because of its mechanical hinge.
So in short, we're not going to see it in a 7s, or an 8, but maybe something beyond 8. Or preferably an entirely different product.
A flexible screen makes a little more sense in a tablet, but the underlying battery, pcb, and chasis is not flexible, so a lot of "flexible screens" are meaningless. Flexible screens are meant for literal "flexible" computers, like watchbands, cuffs, and tube/sphere/cone shaped surfaces that aren't necessarily information devices (like in cars) but decorative props/surfaces that are otherwise awkward.
deleted (Hey Mods, why is there no tool to delete a post entirely, not just its content?)
So... flexible screens aren't really flexible.
It sounds like we're looking at a device that's more 'durable' rather than 'flexible'. Which sounds good to me. Corning is going to take a financial hit, unless they get in on this somehow.
The flip phone people are talking about are at least 5 years away. The battery is going to be a huge problem in larger devices.