The battle for mobile devices with curved displays is heating up with Samsung which do not like taking a back seat, set to announce a OLED curved smartphone later this week called the Galaxy Round.The rushed announcement comes as LG confirms that its model which its announced last week is already in production.
The report from Asiae suggests that the Samsung device could have specifications similar to the Galaxy Note 3,though it isn’t quite clear if the device will use the S Pen like its flat-screened counterpart. The display itself could be a flexible version using plastic substrates instead of glass, placed onto a solid backing in order to provide extra strength and to fix its position in place.
Not to be outdone LG said it has started production on a six-inch display which is curved from top to bottom and that the new smartphone will go on sale in November.
“The flexible display market is expected to grow quickly as this technology is expected to expand further into diverse applications including automotive displays, tablets and wearable devices,” said Dr. Sang Deog Yeo, executive vice president and chief technology officer of LG Display.
“Our goal is to take an early lead in the flexible display market by introducing new products with enhanced performance and differentiated designs next year.”
Curved screens are already being used in televisions. LG launched its 55-inch OLED TV display earlier this year, while Samsung showed a similar sized model during a rushed press conference at the Opera House in Sydney.
The Samsung model is almost certainly be released in South Korea initially it will be some time before it ends up being launched in Australia.
The light-emitting diode (OLED) panels are made of plastic rather than glass which makes them both bendable and unbreakable, potentially allowing for the creation of foldable designs which could radically change the high-end smartphone market.
Research firm IHS Display predicts the global flexible display industry will see dramatic growth in the coming years, becoming a $1.5 billion (?900 million) market by 2016 and exceeding $10 billion by 2019.
