Along with Samsung’s AMOLED panels, the Galaxy Z Flip glass display is now available for purchase by other OEMs.
Galaxy Z Flip glass now available for purchase by OEMs
Samsung says that the glass, formally called “ultra-thin glass” or UTG, is the same glass that exists in the Galaxy Z Flip. Ultra-thin glass is flexible, very thin at 30µm thick, and hard to maintain durability. The Korean Android giant tested its UTG display material by way of French certification agency Bureau Veritas. Bureau Veritas says the Galaxy Z Flip has undergone 200,000 folding tests to ensure its durability.
This folding glass (UTG) was trademarked by Samsung in December because the Galaxy Fold’s display is not durable enough. Samsung considered utilizing UTG for its foldable phones as of November.
UTG: what it means for the future of foldables
Ultra-Thin Glass (UTG) serves as a proper display for foldables. A number of smartphone makers are utilizing dual displays for instance, as a way around foldables. Some Android OEMs would rather go with dual displays than foldables because of the obstacle of crafting a durable display. A display that folds in half must be able to fold inward and outward. A foldable display must be durable. It must be able to fold and keep on folding, not break a few folds in. And so, with the hard design obstacle in front of most phone makers for foldables, many resort to dual displays and “get on with it,” so to speak.
Samsung, though, isn’t one to take the easy way out of something simply to avoid it. Having its large manpower, money, and technological resources, Samsung believes in being on the cutting edge of technology. Samsung isn’t afraid to try new things, even if at first it doesn’t succeed. Ultra-thin glass exists because Samsung tried something different on the first-generation Galaxy Fold.
The current UTG display isn’t perfect. Early display tests reveal that Samsung’s display leaves room for improvement. And yet, every commercial product starts somewhere. Take Corning’s Gorilla Glass (GG), for example. Now in its sixth generation, GG6 is a huge improvement over GG1. No product starts perfect. No one perfects a product that doesn’t exist.
With a new more flexible and durable display available for foldables, perhaps OEMs that have not yet dared to create a foldable phone just might take the chance. Foldable displays need mass availability so that foldables can take off as a mobile tech trend. Should Samsung keep foldable display technology to itself, foldables will die with it.
Samsung sells designs to the market, continues reputation as leader
Market leaders are those who give the best of their work to the market to help others make the leap. Samsung has done this for years now. For example, the company is selling its AMOLED panels to Android OEMs as well as Apple. AMOLED displays are the best in the business for viewing angles and quality color production. In making its edge displays some years back, Samsung also made those available for purchase. Alongside its displays are its ISOCELL camera sensors. As Samsung improves camera quality, it utilizes its camera sensors but makes them commercially available for others to purchase.
It is in the spirit of growing the mobile market that Samsung is now selling its foldable display tech. Of course, the extra profit won’t hurt Samsung, but a sale that grows the market and grows Samsung’s profits is a win-win for everyone.
The Galaxy Z Flip glass designer could soon emerge as the go-to 5G deployer replacement for Huawei in Europe.