A new site shows the future evolutions of Samsung's foldable displays: some interpretations of the "foldable" are new, here's when we'll see them
It's called OLED ERA and it's the site of Samsung Display (the production arm of the displays, within Samsung) dedicated to OLED screens and, since a few days, has a new section dedicated to flexible screens. A mine of information for those who want to know what Samsung has in mind for the future of "foldable" devices, i.e. with foldable screen.
The site is a showcase, but enough to understand what Samsung has in the pipeline: six categories of products, some are evolutions of devices already in the range, others completely new. All, however, have and will have in common the technology Samsung UTG (Ultra Thin Glass), that is an ultra-resistant glass but perfectly bendable at the point of the hinge. On this technical basis Samsung will develop six product families: Flex Bar, Flex Note, Flex Square, Slidable Flex and Rollable Flex. For each of these categories, as early as 2022, one or more new products could arrive.
The next foldable Samsung devices
Let's start with the Flex Bar category: this is a type of devices already seen with the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 (and previous models): the hinge is on the short side of a very elongated device (precisely, bar-shaped). Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 is selling very well among young oriental consumers, so it's reasonable to think that Samsung wants to develop this part of the range.
Flex Note, on the other hand, is something not yet seen on a mass-produced product: the idea is that of the full-screen laptop, consisting of a single display that fills the entire available surface and folds in the middle. Of this type of devices, at the moment, only a prototype has been glimpsed.
Flex Square, on the other hand, is the category of flexible screen seen on the current Galaxy Z Fold: a booklet device, with a vertical hinge.
Slidable Flex is another novelty for Samsung: the flexible screen that stretches (or widens, if you prefer), the smartphone that becomes a tablet. At the moment no such device is present in the Samsung range, but some similar prototype has been shown by other manufacturers (who, by the way, may also have used a Samsung patent).
The last category of foldable screens that Samsung has in mind is the Rollable Flex, that is the one of the screens that can be rolled up like parchment. Again, the same point made for previous Slidable devices applies: no product or prototype from Samsung, but something similar has been seen among competitors' concepts.