Companies have been showing off flexible displays at trade shows for years, but they’ve always seemed like far-future tech… partly because it hasn’t always been entirely clear why you’d need a device with a screen that bends.
Now the Wall Street Journal reports that LG plans to launch a phone with a flexible OLED display by the end of 2013.
There are a few key advantages to flexible screens. They’re harder to break because when pressure is applied they bend instead of shattering (unless you apply too much pressure). You can also use them on surfaces that aren’t flat — such as phones with curved displays or even bracelet-style devices.
But aside from the fact that LG executives tell the WSJ that they’re working on a smartphone with flexible glass, we don’t know much about the company’s plans.
Earlier this year LG also showed off a flexible e-Paper screen that could be used in eReaders and other devices.
via Gizmodo