It seems that the tech world has just gotten a bit more interesting. In case you haven’t heard, foldable smartphones are starting to become a thing over the last couple of years. Unfortunately, these foldable devices feature a display panel that develops a crease after repeatedly opening and closing them.

Indeed the latest foldable smartphones have gotten stronger and more resistant, but none of the current devices on the market feature a display panel that feels as strong as glass. But apparently, things are about to change thanks to LG Chem and its latest announcement.

LG has recently announced a new foldable display material that makes screen panels as hard as glass while still being as flexible as plastic. This means that future foldable devices could improve in both durability and strength.

“The ‘Real Folding Window’ that LG Chem developed coated a new material at a thickness of a few dozen micrometers (㎛) on both sides of PET film, which is a type of thin plastic, to enhance heat-resistance and mechanical properties of plastic materials.”

“Unlike existing polyimide films and tempered glass-type materials, the cover window that applied LG Chem’s new coating technologies will maximize flexibility, while also providing optimized solutions for foldable phones such as making improvements to chronic issues like fold impressions on the connecting part of the screen.”

The new foldable display panel was officially announced as “Real Folding Window.” This new panel has been made possible by applying specially developed coating materials on a transparent PET film (a thermoplastic polymer resin) on both sides of the panel. This process then delivers a thin plastic-like heat-resistant panel that will withstand 200,000 folds without creating a crease, and the best part is that users would be able to fold it inwards and outwards.

Now, according to IT Materials Division Leader, Vice President Chang Do Ki:
“We will strengthen our partnerships with leading companies of the smartphone industry and expand our market starting with mobiles and going on to new foldable applications such as laptops and tablets.”

Via GSM Arena

Source LG Chem