Foldable phones have improved a lot in recent years, with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 being a truly great handset. But they still face two major issues: price and fold, the latter of which may soon be solved.
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LG Chem has unveiled a "Real Folding Window" material designed for foldable displays. This will sit above the pixels, in the same way as Samsung's Ultra-Thin Glass (UTG) in current foldables.
But while Samsung's solution is designed with strength in mind, LG could apparently eliminate the crease in the screen where it folds.
But it's not confirmed that the company has sacrificed durability to achieve this, as it claims there may not even be a need for polyethylene terephthalate (PET) on top – this is a material used in other foldables to protect the screen.
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So it sounds like LG Chem's actual foldable window is the best on the market, with the company promising that it's as tough as glass but as flexible as plastic. And if this material can truly eliminate the creases in the center of foldable displays, then it should be a huge step up from what we see now.
The crease on foldable phones is something that can be largely ignored or even forgotten, fading into the background of your mind, much like hole-punch cameras do after you've used a phone. But it's actually much more noticeable than a punch-hole camera.
So, while it's something most people can live with, avoiding it could make a big difference to the appeal of the screen and remove a potential source of distraction.
After that, it's really just the price that needs to be addressed, and Samsung already seems to be working on that, with prices gradually dropping.
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Of course, it remains to be seen how soon we'll see LG's technology in a foldable phone, especially as Samsung - the biggest player in the market - may be reluctant to change its own display technology, but hopefully this upgrade will happen soon.
Information source: techradar.com
