AUO to demo flexible AMOLED that detects being bent

Flexible displays have hit the mainstream this year and AU Optronics, a Taiwanese display company, is scheduled to unveil a new 5-inch bendable AMOLED prototype tomorrow. Not only is the display flexible, but it can also detect how a user bends it. This information can be used to interface with the display and any other connected components, alongside more familiar touch controls.

The AMOLED panel can detect the size, strength and direction of any user manipulation. This means that bending the display in a certain way could be used to interact with whatever is on the screen, such as zooming in and out of a picture or webpage, or flipping over to a new page or tab. While the 5-inch display size seems suited to smartphones, the display could be used for other consumer electronics, such as e-readers.

Although very novel, this idea is not entirely new. Nokia, Apple and LG have all either patented or discussed similar concepts for interactive OLED displays in the past. However, this is the first major prototype to be shown off that demonstrates these capabilities.

AUO has also unveiled a range of other mobile display products too. The company has some very thin 0.45mm deep  square AMOLED displays at 1.5 and 1.6-inch sizes, which seems well suited for the wearables market and could help smartwatches shed some bulk. AUO has also unveiled a 6-inch 4K resolution display for smartphones, which comes with a crazy pixel density of 737 PPI.

There is still a way left to go before such a display appears in any consumer products, but the flexible display trend will likely keep popping up over the next few years.