Samsung could be launching tablets with flexible displays by 2017
CEO of Samsung North America Gregory Lee noted in a conference last week in California that the company has spent at least 10 years researching flexible displays. Not only are they possible to produce, Lee also claims that they are nearly ready for mass production. One of the biggest challenges was keeping costs down to mass market affordable levels.
According to a recent Bloomberg report, the South Korean manufacturer will also be ready to unveil its first two devices with flexible display technology by MWC 2017. One of these will purportedly be very similar to the flexible 8-inch OLED tablet teased in 2014 that folds into a 5-inch smartphone. The source says Samsung has finally overcome issues regarding the weakening transparent plastic used for certain parts of the device.
Bloomberg continues to speculate that foldable devices from Samsung will help the company compete against Apple in 2017 where the next major iPhone refresh is expected to incorporate curved OLED panels. Additionally, Samsung continues to be one of the largest suppliers of OLED panels moving forward.
Lenovo teased a similar foldable tablet concept at Tech World 2016 in San Francisco, but it remains to be seen if the Chinese manufacturer can beat Samsung to market with a foldable product.