South Korean tech giants, Samsung and LG, have both reportedly been working on smartphones with bendable or foldable display panels for a fairly long time. While lesser-known companies, like Chinese tech startup, Moxi, have recently shown off the first fully functional prototype device that comes with a bendable display panel, latest reports now seem to suggest that at least one of the multinational consumer electronics giants from South Korea may not be very far behind either. According to Bloomberg News, Samsung Electronics may well unveil its first-ever bendable smartphones as early as the next Mobile World Congress trade show, which is scheduled to be held next February in the Spanish city of Barcelona.
Citing unnamed sources, the report claims that Samsung is working on not just one, but two such devices, including one that “folds in half like a cosmetic compact”. The other one will apparently be a 5-inch phone that can be transformed into an 8-inch tablet thanks to the use of a unique display panel that’s being developed by the South Korean firm. Another interesting thing to note is that unlike the monochrome e-ink screen used by the device developed by Moxi, the upcoming gadgets from Samsung are expected to feature OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) screens, which should, in theory, give them better brightness, contrast and visibility than their competitors. Analysts have already expressed hope that such new gadgets will be “game-changers” for the industry if Samsung is able to market the technology to mainstream consumers.
Of course, this is not the first time we’re hearing about Samsung’s R&D on bendable and foldable smartphones. Last year, reports about the company’s ‘Project Valley’ were all over the online tech media, so such devices have been in the works for a while now. Meanwhile, Samsung has also reportedly been working on large transparent display panels, which the company hopes to put into its televisions at some stage in the future. It remains to be seen how it all pans out going forward, but with technology at an inflexion point, it can only mean interesting times ahead for consumers worldwide.