LG is pouring huge amounts of cash into developing flexible screens for your next smartphone.
The company’s LG Display division has invested an incredible 1.99 trillion KRW – that’s about £1.3 billion or $1.75 billion – in a new production line in South Korea dedicated to creating flexible OLED displays. The company says it wants to “lead the approaching era of flexible OLED screens” for mobile devices.
Ask us anything: Join us on Weds, 27th July at 12:30pm BST for #AskTrustedLive
The new production line is called “E6”, and will be installed at LG’s P9 plant in Paju. Mass-manufacturing on the new line is set to begin in the second half of 2018, and will produce 15,000 sheets every month. LG hopes that flexible displays will eventually be used for rollable screens, foldable screens, and window displays.
“
LG was the first company to usher in large-size OLED screens back in 2013, and has since dominated the OLED TV sector. However, Samsung has made significantly greater headway in OLED smartphone screens. LG now hopes to recoup some of the market share from its South Korean rival.
According to analysts at IHS DisplaySearch, the flexible OLED market is expected to grow quickly over the next few years. The company expects that global shipments will rise from 59 million in 2016 to an incredible 416 million by 2020.
It’s also rumoured that LG Display is hoping to woo Apple with its recent investments in mobile OLED screens. Apple is supposedly being courted by Samsung, but sources suggest that LG is keen to win a prized deal to produce displays for Apple’s (alleged) first-ever OLED smartphone – the iPhone 8, coming next year.
Related: Best Android Smartphone 2016
Watch: The Refresh – Catch up on the latest tech news
Would you like a phone with a foldable display? Let us know in the comments.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
