Samsung Rumored to Launch Fully Bendable Smartphones in 2017

Good for Samsung. Once they perfected the tech, then other companies like Apple can simply use them as OEM. Remember, Samsung's arm of displays and semiconductors are not the same as Samsung Mobile. The mobile division still have to "buy" the components later (same thing with NAND chips, etc, which Samsung also make and sell to everyone).
 
This is why it's good with competition.

However, I'm longing for the day when we have holographic screens with a tactile interface! :rolleyes:
 
Perhaps I'm not a visionary or an optimist, at least based on the comments I've read; however, I'm dubious of a successful implementation of this technology. Besides, I prefer the term skeptic.
 
that's awesome !!! good for samsung. I'll wait for Apple's version in early 2027 with tag line:
"Can't innovate anymore, my ass"

cuz I'm an :apple: fen :)
 
asfdasdf said:
Wow this would really kill the iPhone, it would look like something from the last decade. It looks like Samsung has realized that, well, they are the technology developer, so they can blast apple by using more advanced technology.

If well implemented I would switch to samsung for sure
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Key is "well implemented." Time will tell. This is something we have been waiting for since at least the movie Red Planet. Excited to see someone moving forward with the idea.
 
I'm curious how this is going to feel in my hand. I'm concerned it won't feel solid enough for my liking. I'm happy to see some innovation though. Keep it up Samsung!
 
diipii said:
Apple now firmly in catch-up, us next please, please, do you think we could buy them, it's the only way we know, mode.
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Nope. Apple is not a competitor here. Apple doesn't make display panels. Apple buys them, and they are buying from Samsung already.
This competes with the likes of Sharp, LG, etc, ie. panel makers.
This arm of Samsung doesn't compete with Apple. This arm of Samsung has Apple and other companies as their customers. The competitor of Apple is Samsung mobile, which also has to source and buy components.
 
merkinmuffley said:
I'd like to see one of these. Bendable OLED, how'd they do this?
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I think OLED by nature is pretty thin and flexible - not hard to design it to bend more.
I'm sure I'm over simplifying their achievements somewhat! but as the pixels provide the illumination without a backlight the whole display is super thin.
 
Holy **** that advert certainly seems sexist just a little bit!! Look at the size of my dong woman! Oh wow amazing it's so big i think i'll mate with this one.

The tech is going to flop though, bendable is asking for trouble. constant stress on foldable sheet is going to be a hazard and fail so fast.
 
Tech198 said:
Of all the companies,, only Samsung could actually take this "bend-gate" thing so serious.... And every one will just say it's cool... Ironically, but when its used for other purposes like "testing the strength of a phone" we have a change of mind... When does this stop ...
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It stops when Apple rolls out something that is largely the same. Then, all the put downs against this that will accumulate in this thread will immediately evaporate. In other words, it's only a "gimmick", "cheesy", "stupid", "uncool", "nobody needs..." now- because this is not an Apple-connected product rumor. But let Apple roll out pretty much exactly the same thing and such bashes immediately become "shut up and take my money" and "I'm already in line", etc.

Rinse. Repeat. Apparently only Apple can innovate anything in the ballpark of what Apple sells now. All others only produce "gimmicks" and "useless" alternatives. Apple is first- all others are copycats. Apple is not first- "just wait and Apple will get it right.":rolleyes:
 
HobeSoundDarryl said:
No "the future" is mostly the same thing we've seen year after year but slightly thinner, probably attained by ejecting common ubiquitous utility to create the space for "thinning.":rolleyes:

At least this is trying to roll out something tangibly and meaningfully different than the "same old, same old." An ability to end up with a relatively compact phone AND a mini-like tablet in one box has great appeal to me... even more so if Apple would replicate it with iOS running on it.
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Just because it's different doesn't mean it's functional.
 
Great idea, but man is that video just wrong. Essentially "get this and chicks will dig you". Then ends with, "never mind, this woman just throws herself at men with high end gadgets".
 
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Surely there will be some sort of warping or fold line(s) on the screens hinge area eventually? Continuous flexing on a certain point would have to cause issues.
 
Reality check: even if Samsung did introduce fully bendable screens in 2017 like the video, they would do so knowing that they couldn't possibly produce them in any significant volume. When Apple adopts technology for their products, it has to be something that can be mass produced on a scale that completely dwarfs their competition, so the "bleeding edge" type of things like bendable screens with low yields just aren't practical.
 
What's funny is that Samsung will probably make way more money from selling these screens to Apple when Apple unleashes its own bendable phones. Either way, looking forward to 2017!
 
As cool as that looks, I'd be interested to see how thin the phone is when folded. That, and the UI would have to morph from normal iPhone size, to twice as wide when unfolded, which could get messy quickly. I'd trust Apple to do it right, but I feel like this concept is farther down the road from being mass market feasible than Samsung would like us to believe.
 
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If true, I applaud Samsung for taking this tech to the mass market. That said, there are so many engineering challenges to overcome, especially since this will be highly mechanical. I've yet to see an OLED that can bend a full 180 degrees (not saying it doesn't exist, but all the demos I've seen are more like 90 degree with a wide angle at the bend point). Second, this screen can't be covered in glass, so it'll have to be plastic. Plastic does not have the greatest scratch resistance. Third, mechanical durability. Unless the bend is really wide and bulbous, not sure how well the screen will hold up to constant bending over the lifetime of the phone.
 
I'd give my right arm and bet that Samsung somehow found out that Apple ordered different OLED screens through one of their dummy companies for test purposes and now trying to be the first (even with rumors) with this tech, which is in no way ready for market at this point with available technology. Right now it would have to be pretty thick. And what a coincidence this rumor comes a few days before WWDC. Someone tries to steal a bit of attention huh?!
 
This is a great prototype ad. More of a concept instead of the actual product. There is something to be said about being first and being the first to get it right. I feel that will be the case here. Either way innovation is always good
 
Looks like the Microsoft original tablet/book design from the late 1990s. Too bad they killed that project.
 
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