Tag: Bendable

LG Is Developing An Outward Folding Smartphone

LG seems to be gearing up for an exciting 2019. Ever since the inception of smartphones, the form factor has largely remained the same. The year 2019 is expected to showcase smartphones with new form factors. A patent assigned to LG states that the company is developing a unique looking foldable smartphone.

Foldable LG Smartphone

LG had filed a patent for a foldable smartphone with WIPO (World Intellectual Property Office) and USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office) that has now been granted. In the past, several LG foldable smartphone patents have leaked but the latest patent has a totally different folding style. The new patent reveals an LG smartphone that folds on the outwards vs inwards or rolling.

Samsung has also showcased the Galaxy F smartphone that has an inward folding display. It seems LG wants to leave no stone unturned and is trying to experiment with as many types of foldable devices. The LG patent is detailed enough and clearly explains how LG conceptualises an outward folding smartphone

Patent Revelations

The outward folding LG device looks like two symmetrically stacked smartphones that have been consolidated by a flexible touchscreen display. The left part of the device conceals a spring operated mechanism that elongates when the smartphone is unfolded outwards. This elongation of the left part allows the foldable display to stay tight and wrinkle-free.

The device when unfolded transforms into a tablet with a widescreen display. When in tablet mode the UI of the device also adjusts automatically for easy operability. The middle of the display acts as the main navigation bar that has a swipeable list of icons for applications. The device can simultaneously display two different applications on either halves or a single application as per the need.

Launch Date

Also Read: LG Will Launch A Smartwatch With An Inband Camera

The launch date of the outward folding LG smartphone is unknown but the company might showcase some type of foldable smartphone at the upcoming MWC which is scheduled for 25-28 January 2019.

January 4, 2019
The iPhone of the Future Could Fold According to Apple’s Latest Patent

Apple has just been awarded a patent for anew device which the patent application defines as an iPhone. According to the patent Apple is researching foldable iPhone designs starting from back in 2013. This patent was filed in August and awarded today shows a new design iPhone which will look identical to the current iPhone when folded, but will unfold into a larger display device.

The patent application uses the words “carbon nanotubes” to define the mechanism that will hold the bendy iPhone together.

Conductive carbon nanotube paths can form signal paths that are flexible and resistant to cracking. The carbon nanotube structures may be incorporated into signal cables such as flexible printed circuit cables, rigid printed circuit boards, printed circuits that include rigid portions with flexible tails (sometimes referred to as “rigid flex”), portions of display structures, portions of touch sensors such as capacitive touch sensor arrays for displays or track pads, camera structures, antenna structures, housing structures, internal device structures, electrical components, substrates, brackets, housing walls, other structures, or combinations of these structures.

The application also mentions that the structure may have a hinge or a bendable joint. The iPhone of the patent may never come into play or could simply be the next iPhone of 2017.

Samsung too has been showing off bendable screens for a while and did showcase a bendable screen last year that could potentially become a smartphone of the future. Samsung patents range from various devices to various display and bend technology types and can be seen here.

November 1, 2016
LG to Introduce an 18-inch Rollable Screen at CES 2016

LG has taken foldable and bendable displays a step ahead this year. The company had hinted at similar tech last year at CES but had kept mum the entire year. However, now the company is ready to display a prototype at CES ’16 this time around.

LG is ready with a prototype of an 18-inch rollable screen it will showcase at the Consumer Electronics Show this time around. Similar concept displays have been seen in the past by companies like Samsung, Sony and Sharp. Now LG follows suit and marks an important moment for displays of smartphones, tablets and television sets. It is concentrating on making OLED screens bendable, curvable and rollable.

The company is also expected to unveil a 25 inch curvable screen installed in a car as part of the Auto Zone of CES ’16. We can also expect to see a 55-inch “paper thin” television with all its components installed independently according to LG. Watch this space for more updates.

January 4, 2016