Rumor: Samsung was showing customers a 5.7 inch foldable display behind closed doors at CES

BY Stefan Constantinescu

Published 15 Jan 2014

What doesn’t get shown off at CES is almost as exciting as what does get shown off at CES. Companies will often rent out a suite in a hotel or a private meeting room on the show floor and invite people to see devices and components that aren’t meant to be covered by the media. According to the Korean publication ETNews, Samsung was secretly showing people a 5.7 inch foldable display. The resolution of said display isn’t known, but it’s been confirmed to use AMOLED technology, which isn’t surprising given the existence of the Galaxy Round.

When will we see a Samsung phone use a foldable display? The rumor right now is 2015, but that’s always subject to change. And again, I want to emphasize that this is foldable we’re talking about, not bendable. Imagine Samsung’s giant 5.7 inch Galaxy Note 3 bending in half like a piece of paper so you can slip it easily in your pocket. Sure, it’ll be thicker because all the electronics and the giant battery will need to be in the bottom half, but I’m sure Samsung’s product designers will figure something out.

What are the cons of having a foldable display? The technology industry has spent the last three decades trying to eliminate moving parts. There are no motors or actuator arms in smartphones and tablets. Making a device that can bend in half is just asking for failure. Considering that people check their phones 100 times a day, on average, and people keep phones for two years, will Samsung’s display be able to bend nearly 75,000 times?

Try bending a piece of paper that many times. It’ll disintegrate.

[Via: SamMobile]