Skip to main content

Samsung is all in on graphene, and it could mean real bendable devices

Samsung has been ahead of everyone else in terms of flexible displays. Its Galaxy Round was the first phone on the market with a curved screen, beating out the LG G Flex for the honor.

Today, the company announced the development of a new method for synthesizing graphene, suggesting a future where phone screens and wearable devices bend to your will. Graphene is an ullra-thin material that has a hundred times more electron mobility than silicon, one of the most commonly used materials for semiconductors.  With its durability and high heat conductibility, the material has many potential uses for the production of next generation electronic devices as a replacement for silicon.

Recommended Videos

The company, through a research partnership with Sungkyungkwan University, discovered a new way of growing large area, single crystal wafer scale graphene. The new method makes it possible to accelerate the commercialization of the material.

“This is one of the most significant breakthroughs in graphene research in history … We expect this discovery to accelerate the commercialization of graphene, which could unlock the next era of consumer electric technology,” the company said in a blog post.     

Previously, engineers ran into obstacles that made producing practical applications difficult. Researchers found that multi-crystal synthesis, the process of synthesizing small graphene particles for the production of large-area graphene, deteriorated the material’s electric and mechanical properties so much that it limited its possible applications. 

If you want to read the company’s complete findings, you can check out today’s issue of science journals Science Magazine and Science Express.

Christian Brazil Bautista
Christian Brazil Bautista is an experienced journalist who has been writing about technology and music for the past decade…
Samsung’s Galaxy S21 FE could still cost you $700 when it launches in January
Early renders of the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE in multiple color options

Samsung is preparing to launch the Galaxy S21 Fan Edition (FE), an affordable flagship that was supposed to make its debut earlier this year, but was a casualty of the ongoing chip shortage. Now, a new report from WinFuture's Roland Quandt claims that the phone will cost $700 upon release.

The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE is a cheaper version of the S21 in the same vein as the S20 FE Samsung revealed last year. Essentially, it's a phone that takes the essence of the S21, strips away all the superfluous parts, and delivers a flagship experience for less money. You'd think the vanilla S21 already filled in that role, but Samsung may have found a way to go even cheaper.
Familiar specs
Both earlier reports from veteran leaker Evan Blass and Quandt agreed Samsung's Galaxy S21 FE would come with a 6.5-inch Full HD OLED display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processor, 6GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, a very familiar Galaxy S21-inspired design with a plastic rear and an assortment of colors, and a versatile quad-camera setup made up of a primary 12-megapixel camera, a 12 MP ultrawide, and an 8MP telephoto lens. Naturally, 5G will also be on board.

Read more
Samsung’s Galaxy S21 Fan Edition might finally be coming next week after all

There have been delays, alleged cancellations, and reports of cancellations, but Samsung appears to finally be launching the Galaxy S21 Fan Edition (FE) next week.

The company announced an Samsung Galaxy Unpacked Part 2 event taking place on October 20, and additional leaks from a Korean blog citing supply chain sources say the S21 FE will go on pre-order immediately at the event, with a street date of October 29.

Read more
Samsung’s Galaxy S21 Fan Edition might be canceled after all
Samsung Galaxy S21 and S21 Fan Edition

The launch of Samsung's Galaxy S21 Fan Edition (FE) has reportedly been canceled due to the chip shortage currently plaguing the mobile market and may never be sold at all. Samsung was earlier reported to have made this decision back in June, but the company denied it. The S21 FE was expected by analysts to arrive in the fourth quarter of 2021 (between October and December). Now, a new report says that Samsung has canceled the launch of the device and is currently reviewing whether it wants to launch the device at all.

Today's report comes from Korean news site Digital Daily, which quotes a Samsung official as saying: “We canceled the Galaxy S21 FE online [Unpacked], which was planned for mid-October," The official then added: "We are reviewing the smartphone launch itself.”

Read more