It goes without saying: the human race will not be satisfied until we have only one little device that can do absolutely anything and everything. We want our watch to also double as a fitness tracker, our glasses as computer screens, and our cellphones as computers. Ideally, we want our phone, computer, gaming console, dishwasher, coffee machine and George Foreman to all fit into one tiny little cube, small enough to be worn on a charm bracelet.
We might be a couple of decades away from that future, but the prospect of flexible and bendable screens might bring us a lot closer.
Screens that can be stretched, bent and folded are not really a futuristic concept. In fact, they’ve been around for years. Almost all the major tech companies have been experimenting with prototypes for many years.
In 2012, Samsung unveiled a bendable AMOLED display prototype named Youm. The YouTube video below, from 2014, reveals what a Samsung device with a flexible phone could look like.
Basically, this would open up the world for various interesting design options. You could, for example, have a large tablet, which you could also fold up multiple times so that it fits into your pocket. You would even be able to adjust the size of a screen from the size of a laptop screen to that of a TV. It future technology permits, you will even be able to roll up your screen like a piece of paper.
Earlier this year, Samsung told reporters at a news conference in South Korea that, although there are still some obstacles regarding this technology, they are hoping to introduce it within the next year or two.
In recent weeks, CNET has also reported that Apple is in discussions with LG to manufacture foldable OLED screens for the iPhone.