People have been dreaming of foldable screens for years, and although some devices have experimented with the idea, it still needs to refine a lot of hardware and software before technology comes to our attention. But during the Samsung Developer Conference (SDC 2018), the world’s largest smartphone maker has given everyone a taste of what’s been waiting for so long with their new Infinity Flex Display.
Although Samsung was careful not to reveal much, the yet unnamed, foldable display device featured a flexible 7.3-inch screen, tablet size, but also another inside screen, for all your normal smartphone needs. This is a traditional display – which Samsung is calling a “cover screen” – on the outside, so you can quickly access your phone without having to unfold it.
On the stage, the company’s senior vice president, Justin Denison, said the company’s new foldable device will be small enough to be pocketed, although it’s hard to say how accurate this statement is until we see the device after completion.
Still, even in just a quick glance, Samsung’s Infinity Flex Display seemed significantly more polished and ready for consumers than products like the recently announced Royole FlexPai . But more importantly, Samsung’s flexible display represents a possible big change from the glass rectangles we’ve been using over the past decade, going now to something that can literally be folded and adapted to our needs.
Interestingly enough, it seems that Samsung’s traditional “cover screen” on the outside of the device does not take full advantage of the front space of the device.
To do this, Samsung needed to completely rethink the traditional design of the smartphone, including the exterior of the device and how to make it fold properly, as well as redesign its internal components, studying where to put them on a phone that can move way older devices can not.
To address the first problem, Samsung designed new screen materials, including a flexible OLED layer and a backplane , which are layered under an ultra-thin polarizer, a new shock absorbing film and a more durable polymer cover window ( and flexible) on top. And to keep it all together, the company says it has created a new flexible adhesive capable of withstanding cracks or complete dismounting even after thousands of bends. That said, Samsung claims that its flexible screen is the thinnest screen the company has ever made.
To increase the potential of its Infinity Flex Display, Samsung has created a new multitasking interface that allows people to view up to three applications simultaneously across the device’s 7.3-inch display. In addition, for the times when you want to make the transition from what you see on the smaller external screen of the phone to the large internal screen, Samsung worked with Google to create various user interface features such as App Continuity (or Continuity which allows your smartphone to make an uninterrupted transition from what you see on the external display to the home screen without any delay or short interruptions.
Unfortunately, Samsung has not given a date or even a timeline for when this device will be available (not even as a preview), although the company claims that the mass production of these screens should begin to grow in the coming months.
Even looking optimistically, it is still too early to say that the mission was a success. Flexible screens can still end up dying on the beach, like curved TVs and Google Glass. But at the same time, what Samsung showed on Wednesday (7) makes the idea of flexible phones far more tolerable than anything we’ve seen before.
The trend to see folding devices over the next few years has been confirmed with Google’s announcement on Wednesday that the Android system would now support folding screens. The launch almost at the same time shows that there is a joint effort by companies to bring this new technology – something that other companies can also potentially take advantage of
Source:gizmodo.uol.com.br
