The question of whether flexible displays will come to life in commercial devices such as mobile devices has ceased to be asked, and the question of when it will! And the answer is simple, they already exist, the first prototypes were presented at world technology fairs.
The world’s giants, who would not be what they are if they did not know how to “look” into the future, have recognized which side they should row their boats on.
These are, of course, Samsung and Nokia, and the latter, although shaken by weaker business in the previous period, seems determined to return to the game.
Both companies base their technology on the OLED type of display and the main obstacle to the development of such technologies so far has been the method of production whose concept was based on the production of displays at extremely low temperatures.
However, this problem seems to have been overcome, and the simplified way of making such displays and of course the acceptable manufacturer’s price has opened the door to a new era of production and application of flexible displays.
According to its officials, Samsung released the first models with flexible displays in 2012, but the mass production of such devices started in 2013/2014.
Samsung’s devices are equipped with an extremely resistant, flexible AMOLED display that has polymer-based plastic instead of classic glass, and the “secret” ingredient from which the display is made is a material called graphene.
Nokia showed its type of flexible display, as they call it “kinetic device”, at Nokia World 2011 in London. The camera itself, in which the display is built-in, is flexible, and by bending the device in a certain way, the user gives it commands such as zooming the image, etc.
Nokia is experimenting with bundles of carbon nanotubes whose electrical properties change by bending. These nanotubes are coated with a flexible substance, which gives devices of this type of additional advantages, which are reflected in increased strength and water resistance.
Just imagine the possibilities of this technology! Theoretically, the only limit to the use of this technology is imagination.
Of course, the army that has already shown great interest in this technology will be the first to be used, or in commercial use, you can, for example, bend your device around your wrist and use it as a wristwatch.
Another great advantage of such devices is that you can use them without looking at them because with simple movements you give commands to the devices and blind or visually impaired people will be able to intuitively handle their flexible device without any problems. When it comes to the direction of display development in the future, you can definitely expect in this direction without almost any risk!