Confirmed: Samsung has big plans for rollable phones and slidables

(Image credit: Credit: Ts Designer/YouTube)

Information technology's fair to say that Samsung isn't sitting on its laurels when information technology comes to innovative form factors. The company already has two flavors of foldable telephone — the Galaxy Z Fold ii, which opens upward into a big tablet, and the Galaxy Z Flip, which folds in half to be more compact. Now the company has confirmed that it will be experimenting with more than unorthodox ways of cramming more display into a pocket-sized space.

Korean site The Elec reports that Samsung Brandish has gone on the tape nearly its plans in the "rollable and slidable" arena. The company's senior vice president Choi Kwon-young reportedly said on the company'due south fourth quarter briefing telephone call that Samsung Display will push on with "small-scale- to mid-displays this yr."

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In that location are two important things to note here. Firstly, the study doesn't define what it means by rollable or slidable. It presumably refers to the mode the screen expands — either unrolled, like a coil, or sliding out — but yous would imagine the results would look pretty similar to your boilerplate consumer.

Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, y'all'll notation that the report refers specifically to Samsung Display — and that office of the business has fingers in a lot of pies. It's possible that the company'south experimentation with rollable/slidable displays could be limited to tv set sets, rather than beingness small enough to pop in your pocket.

Information technology'due south also possible that the firm is talking about making displays for other companies to use, only on the phone front that would seem unlikely, given Samsung's enthusiasm for being outset out of the traps with foldable handsets.

With all those caveats covered, there is adept reason to think that Samsung is working on a rollable phone. Non merely has LG's (mayhap abased) Rollable handset piqued media interest, merely a recently uncovered patent shows that Samsung has been because the practicalities of rollable displays for at least a year.

In the unlikely event that neither LG nor Samsung deliver a rollable phone, all promise isn't lost. TCL also has a rollable design in the works, which the company demoed at CES. No release date was given, but with LG's option reported to cost $ii,359 (over again, bold it arrives), then TCL's reputation for lower-price devices might prove attractive to those on a upkeep.

Freelance contributor Alan has been writing about tech for over a decade, roofing phones, drones and everything in betwixt. Previously Deputy Editor of tech site Alphr, his words are found all over the web and in the occasional mag besides. When not weighing up the pros and cons of the latest smartwatch, y'all'll probably find him tackling his always-growing games backlog. Or, more than likely, playing Spelunky for the millionth fourth dimension.