Folding screens are coming

Samsung Electronics Co. 005930.SE + 1.28 percent and LG Electronics Inc. 066570.SE-1.36% released smartphones with curved screens recently, leading to an obvious question: why would anyone like curves on the phone?
The answer, actually, doesn't seem to have a lot of importance to the two technology giants of South Korea, which see the curved screen phones only as a starting point for the real Prize: mobile devices and wear, with fully folding screens, which can be used on the wrist or be rolled like a sheet of paper.
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LG has released a phone curved, starting point for the folding screens LG Electronics Inc.
A patent application that Samsung made in South Korea last month shows a mobile device like a tablet with a screen that can be folded in half. Samsung, which doesn't comment on patents or products to be launched in the future, is also developing a device to be used on the head, which can play music and receive phone calls when synchronized to a smartphone, according to other patent application also registered in October.
These devices require new types of screen because there are rectangular and plans as most current smartphones. Although it is not clear when these new devices coming to the market, develop flexible apparatus attempts are a reflection both of the need to create a new generation of devices that consumers consider indispensable as a great technological advancement. United States rivals such as Microsoft Corp. MSFT + 0.75%, Apple Inc AAPL + 0.37% and Google Inc., GOOG-0.40% are also working on devices to wear and have tested prototypes with suppliers in Asia, according to people familiar with matter.
As well as liquid crystal screens have replaced cathode ray tubes in TV sets years ago, Korean manufacturers are now focusing on screens of organic light emission diode, which offer more vivid colors and can be manufactured even thinner than liquid crystal displays, which do not require a backlight.
The manufacturers of fabrics from Japan and Taiwan have also experienced different types of flexible screens, but none was able to achieve mass production.
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Samsung Galaxy Round SK Telecom
In separate laboratories, rival companies that are affiliates of the Samsung and LG took the simpler structure of led screens to add a little more elasticity to the bottom layer of the screens of smartphones to prevent them crack in time to be curved or bent.
This was done by replacing the glass in the back of the plastic screen. With the plastic, the screens are lighter and more flexible. But they may be more vulnerable to risks and is difficult to seal them completely and prevent moisture — a technological hurdle that companies are still trying to overcome.
"The curves are a preliminary step in the direction of the flexible screens," says Lee Bang-soo, Senior Vice President of LG Display co. 034220.SE-2.19%, which manufactures fabrics for companies such as Apple Inc. "technology behind it will allow the development of new products that will be [...] flexible, foldable and rollable. "
To manufacture a fabric that can be folded in half, Samsung has to replace all components of glass fabric for durable plastic — a technique that is still years away, according to the engineers.
The plastic film must be scratch proof, highly heat-resistant, elastic enough that can be folded into sharp angles and transparent as glass. Mass production of these high-quality movies is also a challenge because of the complex chemical structure of materials.
When the technology is mature enough, the possibilities could be enormous. A tablet or even a portable television screen could, for example, be bent several times to fit in a purse or a pocket.
While this day is not enough, the hardware manufacturers may choose to continue using a combination of glass and plastic. To produce a folding screen, for example, a company could put two glass sheets side by side and connect them with plastic films, said Kang Chung-seok, Executive of Kolon Industries Inc., 120110.SE-2.47% a Korean company that develops new materials like plastic thin films for next-generation screens.