LG will construct an entire factory to build flexible phone screens

By Andy Boxall July 23, 2015

lg display flexible screen factory news flex 2 — Image used with permission by copyright holder

LG thinks the future of smartphones is flexible and foldable, and is investing nearly $1 billion in making this sci-fi vision become a reality. According to the Wall Street Journal, LG Display is preparing to build a brand new factory in South Korea dedicated to making flexible screens, in an effort to meet the demand it expects from smartphone manufacturers over the next few years. The astonishing $907 million cost of the factory, spread over a two-year period, was revealed in a regulatory filing, and work will begin on it after September.

The factory won’t only concentrate on the flexible screens we’ve seen so far either. LG Display says once up and running, the factory should be able to produce foldable screens for use not only on phones and wearables, but in cars too.

LG Display

LG Display is no stranger to flexible screens, and this new factory proves its commitment to widely producing some of the amazing concept tech it has shown off recently. In May, the company demonstrated a giant 55-inch rollable OLED display that could be stuck to the wall using magnets, following on from a 22-inch version it made in 2014.

It’s also been using flexible screens to great effect in its mobile products. A bendy, P-OLED screen is used in the G Flex 2 smartphone, and a smaller, circular version in the G Watch R and the Watch Urbane smartwatches. LG Display’s work on flexible screens is accompanied by LG Chem’s continued efforts to create equally malleable batteries for use in flexible, foldable devices.

When could we see the first flexy efforts emerge from LG Display’s new factory? It won’t be tomorrow, considering it hasn’t even been built yet. However, a leaked LG product roadmap put foldable and rollable screens being available from 2017 onwards — right at the end of the two-year investment period LG’s committed to for its new factory.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Senior Mobile Writer

Andy is a Senior Writer at Digital Trends, where he concentrates on mobile technology, a subject he has written about for…

Mobile

LG’s minimalist concept phone is a thing of beauty

lg concept smartphone raindrop news phone

LG hasn’t been known for its groundbreaking smartphone designs recently, but this is set to change in the future as the company gives us a peek at what it’s working on next. The company has published a set of conceptual drawings that depict an unnamed upcoming smartphone, and it’s considerably more attractive than the recent LG G8X ThinQ.

There are two key design features highlighted in the drawings -- a so-called Raindrop camera array, and a new 3D Arc Design body shape. Starting with the body, LG says the 3D Arc Design will make the phone much more comfortable to hold than previous models thanks to symmetrically curved edges. This reduces the number of sharp angles, and improves the visual style of the phone, according to the company.

Mobile

Folding phones have a durability problem, and they’re tough to fix

samsung galaxy z flip 24 hour review hands on 6

While folding phones are generating major buzz and being heralded as the future of smartphone design, they have a few hurdles to jump before they're truly ready for prime time. Sky-high prices and technical growing pains are not unusual for new directions in tech, and most early adopters understand that, but evidence that foldable smartphones have a major durability problem is rapidly mounting. To make matters worse, folding phones are proving extremely difficult and expensive to fix.

Delayed launches, limited stock, cracked and scratched screens, and repair issues are tarnishing the shiny appeal of this emerging smartphone category. It looks as though manufacturers may have rushed folding phones onto the market before they're ready. The big question is this: Are these problems bad enough that you shouldn't buy a folding phone? We took a closer look at the issues that have arisen, the cost of repair, and what manufacturers are doing to see if we can find an answer.
Folding screens present major durability issues
The question of how durable a folding screen can be has been hanging over the first wave of devices like a stench. We had an inkling that there might be a problem when Samsung showed off the Galaxy Fold at MWC last year but wouldn't let people touch it. Not long after that, the first batch of review units went out, and several reports cropped up of issues with the screen. Samsung was quick to blame the removal of a protective layer that some reviewers had mistaken for a screen protector and tried to peel off. There were no issues with the Galaxy Fold sent to Digital Trends, but CNBC, the Verge, and Marques Brownlee all ran into trouble, and it soon became apparent the problems were even more widespread than that. This prompted a recall and a months-long delay to the original April 25 release date.

Mobile

The dual-screen LG G8X ThinQ launches on November 1 for just $700

Two screens on a regular smartphone? That's what LG's G8X ThinQ Dual Screen is promising. It's similar to the dual-screen attachment LG showed off at MWC 2019 on the V50 ThinQ, but there have been a lot of changes to improve this new version over the first, and it has made it a considerably more interesting solution to our modern multi-tasking woes.

But a dual-screen accessory isn't the only new feature with the LG G8X ThinQ. From an ASMR mode to a 32-megapixel selfie camera, here’s everything you need to know about it.
The phone
The LG G8X ThinQ is a revised version of the LG G8, also released earlier this year. The design is identical, so it has a smooth, lightweight body that’s warm to the touch. It weighs 192 grams and is 8.8mm thick. On the front is a 6.4-inch OLED screen with a small teardrop notch at the top, and it has an FHD+ resolution. The screen also contains a fingerprint sensor, similar to Samsung's Galaxy S10 range.