Top display makers, Samsung Display and LG Display, are working on stretching the curved OLED display from side-to-side to include from top-to-bottom. The new Samsung Infinity Display on the Galaxy S8 series does a great job going from side-to-side and taking up close to 90-percent of the front of the phone in pure display. However, according to ETNews, Samsung’s next step is to take the display from top-to-bottom so that close to 100-percent of the front of the smartphone is one giant display – allowing a larger display in a smaller physical area. A great idea, but not without its technological challenges and one that Samsung, LG, and even Apple is working to solve.
It all comes down to the lamination process that is required and the heat generated by the laser trimming process that is required to trim the laminated panels for a precise fit. Samsung Display plans on launching such a panel later this year, but Apple, never one to jump into new technology, will use a flat OLED panel in the upcoming iPhones this fall because of the corner problem according to ETNews. Apple will not jump into the full curved displays until 2018 when they believe the technology will be perfected and Samsung is capable of supplying them with the quantities they will need. There are several layers needed in an OLED display, such as a film to protect the OLED organic material and, of course, a touch panel. When heat is generated from the laser to cut the film, it can become stuck and they are having difficulties in getting the four-sided panel in the form of an edge. The edges of the display are doable, but in the corners, currently there is a ‘dead-zone’ or ‘blind spot’ where the touch display is absent.
Samsung seems determined to continuing forward with their curved displays and abandoning flats screens on all but their entry and mid-range devices. This may not sit too well with buyers that would prefer an AMOLED display, but also want a flat display. Regardless of the pros and cons of the curved design, it does make the smartphone very sexy looking and it helps it to standout from the crowded field of smartphones being offered. Having a close to 100-percent display front is only the beginning as foldable OLED displays are already slated to make an arrival at the end of 2017 or in early 2018.