Rollable OLED displays are exciting - as these displays can enable new device form factors - such as TVs that roll up into a small cylinder or a tablet-sized device that can roll-up into a pen.
Rollable OLED TVs
In early 2019, LG launched the world's first rollable OLED device - a TV that rolls into its base. The 65" Signature OLED TV R has three viewing options - full view, line view and zero view. This is a radical new TV form factor which carries an extremely high price. Hopefully prices will be reduced as the technology matures.
Rollable mobile devices
While LG is leading the race to rollable OLED TVs, many display makers are developing smaller rollable OLED displays for mobile devices. Commercial adoption hasn't started yet, but it is likely that we will see the first rollable OLED smartphone in the market by the end of 2021 or early 2022.
The latest rollable OLED news:
Visionox shows its latest OLED prototypes and technologies at Display Week 2023
China-based Visionox demonstrated many OLED displays and new technologies at Display Week 2023.
So first up, we have some rollable and foldable OLEDs. You can see some impressive looking such flexible OLEDs in the video above, and Visionox featured many such displays at their booth.
LG Display shows new OLED display prototypes at Display Week 2023
LG Display demonstrated several exciting OLED display prototypes at Display Week 2023.
First up was the company's 77" 8K Meta (microlens-array) panel - this has been commercialized already, but it is always a wonder to watch this particular display which offers an extraordinary image quality.
TCL CSoT shows new foldable and rollable inkjet-printed OLED prototypes
TCL CSoT had several interesting new OLED demonstrations at SID DisplayWeek 2023, all of which were produced by inkjet printing, which shows the company's commitment to the new production process.
First up is the company latest inkjet-printed panel, this time CSoT showed a 8K (7680 × 4320) 65" TV panel that is foldable (with a bending radius of 25 mm). The panel offers a peak brightness of 800 nits, a response time of under 1 ms and a refresh rate of 120Hz.
BOE demonstrates a 15" rollable OLED display
During Display Week 2023, BOE showcased a 15" 2560x1600 rollable OLED display.
The display offered a rollable radius of 10 mm (outwards), and can roll 50 mm of its length, changing from the full 15" 16:9 display to a 13.6" 24:9. This is not as impressive as Samsung's rollable demo that grew 5 times its original rolled size.
Samsung Display shows its latest flexible OLEDs at Display Week 2023 and unveils the OLED Sensor Display
Samsung Display demonstrated many OLED technologies at Display Week 2023, which we'll detail below. It seems that the main new technology was the Sensor OLED Display, which is an OLED with an embedded sensor that can perform fingerprint sensing in addition to blood pressure, heart rate sensing and stress level sensing (all from reading the finger), which the company says is the first such display in the world.
The Sensor OLED Display embeds light-sensing organic photodiodes (OPDs) inside the display itself, which allows it to perform the sensing functions all over the display. Samsung explains that as OLED light is reflected differently depending on the contraction and relaxation of the blood vessels inside the finger, the OPD senses the light when it returns to the panel, and converts it into health information.
LG Display shows its latest OLED displays at CES 2023
LG Display has an impressive presence at CES 2023, showing many OLED displays, products and prototypes.
The video above starts with LG's automotive displays, which include new 18" slidable OLEDs and some more OLED and LCD displays.
Samsung shows its Flex Hybrid AMOLED, combining foldable and slidable capabilities
As was reported two days ago, Samsung is showing a new AMOLED display at CES 2023, that is both foldable and rollable.
The so-called Flex Hybrid OLED opens up from 8-inch when closed, to 10.5" when opened - and 12.4" when fully rolled up.
Samsung set to demonstrate a foldable and slidable AMOLED display
According to a report from Korea, Samsung Display will unveil a new display at CES 2023, which is both foldable and slidable. The display is 8-inch in size when folded, opens up to a 10" display when unfolded, and then can be slided further to 12.4".
The display will be shown in a private booth, which will not be open to the public. It is likely that this display is still at an early stage of development, as there are many challenges such as durability and quality that Samsung will need to overcome. The report suggests, though, that Samsung is ready to soon commercialize such a panel.
Lenovo and Motorola show new rollable device prototypes
During Lenovo's Tech World 2022 event, the company and its Motorola subsidiary showed new device prototypes, including two interesting rollable OLED devices.
In the video above, you can see a new laptop prototype that has a rollable OLED display, that opens up to increase the screen size. There's also a smartphone that opens from a 4-inch display to a 6.5-inch one using a rollable display.
Intel and Samsung Display show a rollable 17-inch AMOLED display prototype
During Intel's Innovation Day 2022, Samsung Display's CEO shows a prototype rollable AMOLED laptop display that opens up from 13-inch to 17-inch:
Over the years, Intel has been working with display makers to showcase innovative new display technologies. In early 2020 the company showed a foldable 17-inch laptop device.
