Skip to main content

LG’s new thin and stretchable displays could be used to wrap skin, cars, and furniture

LG Display has announced that it has created the world’s first stretchable display that can be deformed by up to 20% of its original size and shape without suffering any damage. The ultrathin material looks similar to OLED-based flexible displays we’ve seen from LG Display in the past, but the company says it has gone with micro-LED technology for this new stretchable version.

A woman bends and folds LG Display's stretchable display.
LG Display

It’s a full-color, 12-inch RGB panel that has a claimed pixel density of 100 pixels per inch (ppi). LG Display says that’s a resolution that competes with most existing monitors, but the company appears to have a different target use for the stretchable material. “Alongside its thin, lightweight design, the Stretchable display’s revolutionary technology offers next-level versatility for various daily scenarios,” the company said in a press release. The display is “easily attachable to curved surfaces such as skin, clothing, furniture, automobiles and aircraft.”

Related Videos

The micro-LED structure is also apparently quite rugged. “Unlike the conventional linear wired system, the Stretchable display’s flexible S-form spring-wired system’s optimal structure can endure repetitive changes to its form, assuring consumers of its incredible durability and reliability.” The company claims the displays will be able to withstand “significant external impacts.”

LG Display's stretchable display being demonstrated.
LG Display

It’s not the first time a company has created a stretchable display. Samsung announced that it had created an OLED-based 9.1-inch stretchable prototype in 2017, though we have yet to see Samsung’s technology appear in any devices that average buyers can get their hands on.

LG’s display technology division, LG Display, creates many of the new technologies that ultimately end up in products we can buy from companies like LG Electronics, Sony, and Vizio. Its standard OLED panels are already being used by many of these manufacturers. So far, there seems to be limited interest in LG Display’s more exotic technologies, like rollable OLED. Only LG Electronics itself has brought a rollable OLED TV to market, but it’s prohibitively expensive at $90,000.

Editors' Recommendations

Netflix’s new account-sharing rules punish students for being students
Five kids in uniforms standing side by side in a scene from Love 101 on Netflix.

As a Canadian, I am now going to be among the first lucky people to contend with Netflix’s new rules around account sharing. As a parent of one university student and one soon-to-be university student, I’m also among the first people who will have to tell their kid -- in true Canadian style -- sorry, no more Netflix for you.

See, my son attends school about 45 minutes away from home. Not far at all by university (or college for my American friends) standards, but still far enough that he no longer qualifies as a household member, according to Netflix.

Read more
New Sonos speakers apparently confirmed by accessory company
Rendering of a reportedly unreleased Sonos speaker created by The Verge.

If a document published by accessory maker Sanus is accurate, Sonos' next speakers will be called the Era 100 and Era 300, according to a report from Chris Welch at The Verge. Welch claims that The Verge had already learned from its sources that "Era" will be the public-facing name of the as-yet-unreleased smart speaker that he had previously reported on under the code name "Optimo," and that the Sanus document offers further evidence of this claim.

Sanus is a company that makes a variety of mounting solutions for AV products, including many Sonos models such as the Sonos Beam, Arc, and Sonos One. The discovered document, which was posted to the site device.report, is entitled "Sanus Elite - Adjustable Speaker Wall Mount for Sonos Era 100 and Era 300 Speakers."

Read more
LG brings Apple TV, Apple Music, and AirPlay to webOS Hub-based TVs
Apple TV app for webOS Hub.

In October 2022, LG debuted webOS Hub, an enhanced version of the smart TV software it uses for its own TVs that can be licensed by other manufacturers. At the time, webOS Hub was not a full replica of the webOS that runs on LG TVs, given that it was missing some features like Apple's AirPlay and HomeKit support.

Today, LG says that webOS Hub is now compatible with all of those missing Apple ingredients. Apple TV app, Apple Music, AirPlay, and HomeKit are available to compatible webOS Hub TVs in more than 100 countries and regions.

Read more