As a fan of foldable tech, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to check out the Samsung Display booth at MWC. I was hoping to get a glimpse into the future of foldable OLED technology during my visit, and thankfully, Samsung didn’t disappoint.
The Korean vendor showed off more foldable concepts than I thought they would. Some were expected, like the In & Out screens that let a foldable fold both ways. Others were newer, like rollable OLED panels that can wrap around your wrist. That was especially impressive to see in action. Or so I thought until I got to see Motorola’s concept, which was much closer to a commercial product than Samsung’s wrist-worn device.
OLED Cling Band
Yes, Samsung’s wrist smartwatch tech was interesting, but it was too thin for my taste. The extra height needed to partially wrap around the wrist gave it a less than ideal aspect ratio.
Also, the foldable screens were damaged after being used relentlessly during the show.
Foldable laptops
In this section, you’ll see two different concept products from Samsung. The first is a 17.3-inch foldable tablet/laptop that looks familiar. We saw this large-screen foldable display concept from Samsung before.
The second version gives us a smaller foldable tablet/laptop that has a rollable component. By default, you get a 10.5-inch OLED Full HD OLED panel display. Roll out the right-hand side, and you get a 12.4-inch device.
Rollable Flex
Samsung’s Rollable Flex also features a 12.4-inch Full HD panel. This one rolls out from a traditional phone-like device and turns into a large tablet.
However, it’s unclear if we’ll see such technology in use anytime soon. The same goes for all of Samsung Display’s concepts in this post, of course.
Flexible panel
Samsung also showed off a 17.3-inch QHD+ flexible panel that’s incredibly thin.
Very, very thin. This display could possibly be seen on foldable laptops in the future.
Slidable Flex
Then there’s the Slidable Flex, a display that might be equipped on a tablet.
As you can see in the images, the OLED panel can roll to the side, extending the screen size significantly.
Flex S display
Samsung is also toying with OLED panel ideas that will let it manufacture triple-foldable devices, like the Flex S screen in the following image. When unfolded, this smartphone turns into a 12.4-inch tablet.
Flex In & Out
I mentioned the Flex In & Out earlier. This technology would let Samsung make Galaxy Z Flip and Fold devices with foldable screens that can fold in both directions.
The handsets would fold perfectly regardless of the direction you choose. That implies Samsung has perfected a new hinge tech to support fold-in and fold-out movements on the same device.
Samsung says the Flex In & Out will work between -20ºC (4ºF) and 60ºC (140F). The company actually hosted live bending tests at the show in extreme conditions. Robots opened and closed foldable screens in temperature-controlled environments. At -20ºC, a foldable phone can withstand up to 30,000 folds. The figure goes up to 150,000 bends at 60º.
Flex Liple
The least exciting foldable OLED panel tech Samsung demoed is called Flex Liple. As the name might suggest, this display tech lets Samsung fold the screen around the top edge of a foldable Flip-type phone.
The result is a small display on the top edge, ready to display the time and date and show notifications.