The display-making arm of LG announced today it will start the mass production of a plastic-based flexible display, confirming rumors that surfaced last week.
LG's plastic-based 6-inch display is just 0.44 millimeters thick and weighs 7.2 grams, making it the world's lightest OLED display of its size. The panel uses film-type encapsulation to stop air and moisture from damaging the sensitive OLED materials. The company promises "enhanced performance and differentiated designs" will come next year.
While the Korean company didn't offer a timeline for the launch of the first smartphone equipped with the new type of display, sources confirmed to Reuters that LG will release the device in November. The same report notes that Samsung's curved phone will be fitted with a display that is curved side to side, unlike LG's design, which is curved from top to bottom with a curvature radius of 700mm.
LG claims that the plastic-based panel is unbreakable and bendable, though the smartphone using it will still be rigid. In terms of specs, the device, which is reportedly called G Flex, will feature a 6-inch HD display, a Snapdragon 800 processor, and 2GB of RAM.
LG Display Mass-Produce World's First Flexible OLED Panel for Smartphones
LG Display brings innovation to the smartphone market with cutting-edge panel
Seoul, Korea (Oct. 7, 2013) – LG Display [NYSE: LPL, KRX: 034220], the world's leading innovator of display technologies, today announced that it will start mass-production of the world's first flexible OLED panel for smartphones. This state-of-the-art panel represents another milestone following the company's commercial rollout of the world's first 55-inch OLED TV display earlier this year.
"LG Display is launching a new era of flexible displays for smartphones with its industry-leading technology," said Dr. Sang Deog Yeo, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of LG Display. "The flexible display market is expected to grow quickly as this technology is expected to expand further into diverse applications including automotive displays, tablets and wearable devices. Our goal is to take an early lead in the flexible display market by introducing new products with enhanced performance and differentiated designs next year."
LG Display's flexible OLED panel is built on plastic substrates instead of glass. By applying film-type encapsulation technology and attaching the protection film to the back of the panel, LG Display made the panel bendable and unbreakable. The new display is vertically concave from top to bottom with a radius of 700mm, opening up a world of design innovations in the smartphone market. And only 0.44mm thin, LG Display's flexible OLED panel is the world's slimmest among existing mobile device panels. What's more, it is also the world's lightest, weighing a mere 7.2g even with a 6-inch screen, the largest among current smartphone OLED displays.
In March 2012 LG Display developed the world's first 6-inch Electronic Paper Display (EPD) based on e-ink which utilizes a plastic backplane. Having previously showcased the world's first curved 55-inch OLED TV panel at CES 2013, today's announcement highlights the company's leading position in advanced flexible display technologies.
According to research firm IHS Display Bank, the global flexible display industry will see dramatic growth and become a USD 1.5 billion market by 2016, exceeding USD 10 billion by 2019. LG Display plans to advance flexible display technologies and bring innovation to consumers' daily lives with the introduction of rollable and foldable displays in various sizes.
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About LG Display
LG Display Co., Ltd. [NYSE: LPL, KRX: 034220] is a leading manufacturer and supplier of thin-film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) panels, OLEDs and flexible displays. The company provides TFT-LCD panels in a wide range of sizes and specifications for use in TVs, monitors, notebook PCs, mobile products and other various applications. LG Display currently operates nine fabrication facilities and seven back-end assembly facilities in Korea, China, Poland, and Mexico. The company has a total of 56,000 employees operating worldwide. For more news and information about LG Display, please visit www.lgdnewsroom.com.
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