Samsung Display will develop rollable and sliding screens in 2021

LG and OPPO have both teased or demonstrated smartphones with rollable displays in recent months, but it looks like another major player could be entering the market.

Samsung Display senior vice-president Kwon-Young Choi confirmed during an earnings call (h/t: The Elec) that it will “fortify our presence in the display market through innovative form factors such as rollable and sliding displays.”

The executive didn’t confirm whether these screens would indeed be for smartphones, but Samsung filed a patent back in 2019 for a rollable phone that resembles OPPO and LG’s efforts. See the render by LetsGoDigital in the main image above.

The Korean manufacturer has also filed patents related to phones with sliding displays. More specifically, one patent filed in 2019 shows a screen that slides down and to the back of the device, revealing a selfie camera and other sensors at the top (check it out below). Another patent filed last year shows a phone that’s more like a Nokia N95, being able to slide up or down and featuring a rear screen too.

There’s no guarantee that Samsung itself will release rollable or sliding phones, as its Samsung Display arm could theoretically be developing the tech for other manufacturers as well. But the patent filings clearly show that Samsung is thinking about these display types, so we wouldn’t be surprised if we see Samsung phones with this tech.

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