- LG’s stretchy screen now boasts 50% elongation for… bodycon clothing?
- It can fold, bend and twist without damaging the display
- It’s the shape of things to come
We’ve been following LG’s quest to make practical, stretchable displays for some time now. And a new report states that while Apple is also experimenting with the tech (as we discovered earlier this year, Apple has patented its own “Stretchable Display”) LG has beaten it, and flexible display rivals such as Samsung, to the punch.
LG has announced a new stretchable display prototype, and it’s much more bendy than anything we’ve seen from the firm in the past: where previous prototypes could be stretched out by 20%, this prototype can achieve the kind of deformation that even the Fantastic Four’s Reed Richards might consider a bit of a stretch: it can expand by over 50%.
What is a stretchable display for?
LG’s stretchable display is designed to change shape according to what you want your device to do. It doesn’t just stretch; it can be twisted and folded too, all without damaging the screen. While the image above shows extreme examples, one application might be a tablet that rolls into a foldable phone, or a phone that becomes a wearable.
There are even applications in clothing. LG’s concepts include smart displays attached to the uniforms of firefighters to provide real-time information to them and their team, although the announcement skips over the heat protection requirements such a display would require.
The new display uses a micro-LED light source, an improved silicon substrate that’s also used in contact lenses, and a new wiring design. The result is a promised lifespan of 10,000 stretches without damaging the display.
We’re still a long way from the commercialization of this technology. But it’s still enormously exciting; we’ve seen the future, and it’s stretchy.
