It is fair to say that Samsung is not sitting on its laurels when it comes to innovative form factors. The company already has two folders of foldable phone – the Galaxy Z Fold 2, which opens into a large tablet, and the Galaxy Z Flip, which folds in half to be more compact. Now the company has confirmed that it is going to experiment with more unorthodox ways to cram more displays into a small space.
The Korean website The Elec reports that Samsung Display has gone on record of its plans in the ‘rollable and sliding’ arena. The company’s senior vice president, Choi Kwon-young, allegedly said on the fourth quarter’s conference call that Samsung Display would continue with ‘small to mid-range displays this year’.
Here are two important things to note. First, the report does not define what it means by rolling or sliding. This probably refers to the way the screen expands – either rolled down, like a scroll, or moved out – but you would think that the results are very similar to your average consumer.
Second, and perhaps more importantly, you will notice that the report specifically refers to Samsung Display – and that part of the business has a lot of pies. It’s possible that the company’s experimentation with scrolling / sliding screens could be limited to television sets, rather than being small enough to appear in your pocket.
It’s also possible that the firm is talking about making displays for other companies to use, but on the front of the phone it seems unlikely, given Samsung’s enthusiasm to be the first to fall out of favor with foldable devices.
With all the reservations covered, there is good reason to think that Samsung is working on a rollable phone. Not only has LG’s (possibly abandoned) Rollable handset aroused media interest, but a recently uncovered patent shows that Samsung has been considering the practical aspects of rollable screens for at least a year.
In the unlikely event that neither LG nor Samsung deliver a rollable phone, all hope is not lost. TCL also has a rollable design, which the company demonstrated at CES. No release date has been given, but because LG’s option would cost $ 2,359 (again, assuming it arrives), TCL’s reputation as a lower-cost device may be appealing to those on a budget.