Samsung is not the only smartphone OEM that is looking towards making huge design changes in the coming years, Apple has also been touted to take the same direction starting 2018.
Now, according to reports surfacing from South Korea, it appears that LG Display will be working together with the iPhone maker in achieving this foldable smartphone design after the launch of next year’s iPhone 7S. Apple will not be the only partner of LG Display, but the likes of Google and Microsoft have also been named as possible benefactors of what LG can do when it comes to display technology.
Apparently, the role of LG Display will be to come in with organic light-emitting diode flexible displays to be used by Apple, Google and Microsoft as from 2018 onwards with respect to smartphones. The technology will mean that we get to see an Apple iPhone that folds outwards, something similar to what Samsung has reportedly been working on in the shape of Galaxy X.
Mass production of these foldable display screens will begin in 2018, ETnews can confirm, but a prototype of the same display screen has already been produced by the South Korean tech giant. When reached for comment, LG Display declined to give out any details, however, this report is in line with recent rumors that Apple will be releasing an iPhone that can be folded into two. The two surprise packages of this foldable display technology are Google and Microsoft as neither has featured in recent reports that have associated the likes of Apple and Samsung with this type of smartphone technology.
Samsung made its mark in the foldable display technology when it showcased a prototype of the same back at the CES 2014 trade show in Las Vegas. As it is, LG is looking to bail out its poor performing smartphone wing by venturing into the foldable smartphones technology. As far as Apple is concerned, the jump into foldable smartphones will ensure that the iPhone keeps on competing with Samsung on the same levels come 2018.
As far as Google and Microsoft are concerned, we are yet to hear anything concrete from the two, but with Google’s recent jump into the high-end smartphone market and Microsoft’s desire to bridge the gap between computers and mobile devices, it will indeed be interesting to see how this foldable display technology fares on.