SID has announced that Samsung’s quad-edge flexible AMOLED display is receiving an award. Ever since Samsung introduced its edge displays a few years back they have been the center of some of Samsung’s biggest designs in terms of its smartphones. From the original Galaxy Note Edge to this year’s Galaxy S8 lineup, Samsung’s use of edge displays has slowly increased as their popularity has grown over time. SID has evaluated last year’s quad-edge display that was used in the Galaxy S7 Edge, though, and has decided to present the company with the Display of the Year Award.
With the display in question, Samsung used an industry-first technology that allows the sides of the display, as well as the top and bottom, to be flexed using a very specific curvature radius, which can be varied quite significantly in order to create the look and feel required. In the case of the Galaxy S7 Edge, SID claims the technology allowed for an increase in grip and comfort, as well as a natural curved look. Aside from this, the circuit plan included allowed dead space to be reduced to record levels for the company – 1.09mm to be precise. This award is not Samsung’s first though. In fact, Samsung has already received two awards from SID, the first in 2013 for a curved AMOLED display, and the second in 2015 for a bent AMOLED display. It’s clear that Samsung’s edge displays are becoming an ever-more important part of the design process of its devices, with this year’s flagship lineup featuring a new taller edge-to-edge display.
Taking the increase in the importance of edge displays into account, as well as the race to reduce bezel sizes, it should only be a matter of years before Samsung’s edge displays are present on all its devices, even the low-end Galaxy J series. Samsung will not be the only one, though, with many manufacturers expected to follow suit and gradually introduce edge displays in their smartphones, though some companies are sure to resist the trend better than others. It’ll remain to be seen how quick the pace of edge display adoption increases over the next couple of years, though those already including them in their devices are likely looking into the introduction of flexible displays, which is likely to be the next big step in terms of display technology.