Samsung reportedly wants to be the foldable display supplier to Apple and Google

By Aaron Mamiit Published March 3, 2019

Samsung has reportedly started to shop around its foldable display technology after the unveiling of the Samsung Galaxy Fold, and has already offered to become the supplier for such screens to smartphone industry rivals Apple and Google.

The Samsung Galaxy Fold was revealed at a Galaxy Unpacked event in San Francisco in February. It features Infinity Flex technology, allowing it to transform from a smartphone with a 4.6-inch screen into a device with a larger 7.3-inch display.

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Samsung is apparently not selfish with its foldable displays. Industry sources say that its Samsung Display unit has sent out samples of the technology to Apple and Google, seemingly as a pitch to supply the screens of future foldable smartphones from its two rivals, according to ETNews.

The sample displays that Samsung sent to Apple and Google are said to measure 7.2 inches when unfolded, which is slightly smaller than the 7.3-inch Samsung Galaxy Fold.

The sources added that Samsung Display is currently capable of producing 2.4 million units of the foldable displays per year, but it is thinking about increasing its capacity to 10 million units per year to be able to meet future demand. The question is whether Apple and Google will take up Samsung’s offer as a foldable display supplier.

Apple and Google have both shown interest in rolling out their own foldable smartphones through the patents that they have filed related to the technology. For example, Apple filed a patent for a clamshell-style foldable smartphone, while Google filed a patent for a hinged smartphone with selectable displays.

Apple, in particular, may choose Samsung as its supplier for foldable displays since it already provides most of the OLED components for the company’s iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max. However, Apple is not expected to released foldable iPhones until at least 2020.

The Samsung Galaxy Fold may not be seeing any competition from Apple and Google in the near future, but the Huawei Mate X looks like a worthy challenger. In fact, in our hands-on review of Huawei’s foldable smartphone, the Mate X seems to already be a complete and usable product compared to Samsung’s version of the device.

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