shock-proof
Smashed iPhone? Rivals Samsung have got an ‘UNBREAKABLE’ smartphone screen that can withstand ‘military-grade’ damage
Samsung has built an "unbreakable" bendy smartphone display panel that could put an end to smashed screens for good – and give it a leg up over the iPhone.
The panel has rigorous military-grade durability tests without taking damage, including being dropped 26 times from a height of four feet and withstanding extreme temperatures.
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It even survived a drop test from 6-feet without so much as a scratch.
You can check out Samsung's official video showing off the new panel above, in which it takes several blows from a hammer.
What's more, it's an OLED display – which stands for organic light-emitting diode – meaning the pixels on it light up on their own (unlike on LCD screens where a backlight is used for the same effect).
This is also the ideal tech for foldable phones like the rumoured Samsung Galaxy X: a huge 7-inch blower that can fold in half like a wallet.
The new phone is expected to land next February, alongside the Galaxy S10 and S10 Plus – and it may well pack the invincible display.
You can also expect the panel to make it on to non-Samsung devices like car dashboards, mobile military tech, portable game consoles (hello Nintendo Switch), and tablets.
It's now certified by Underwriters Laboratories, an official testing company for the US Department of Labour, meaning its ready for consumer use.
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While these types of flexible displays have been around for yonks (the Apple Watch has one, for example), the covers tend to use glass – which can easily scratch and shatter.
Samsung has instead gone with a lightweight plastic cover that should, in theory, work better.
Central to its flexible design is an unbreakable substrate and an overlay window that adheres "securely" to the panel.
In case you didn't know, Samsung is one of the leading display makers in the world and one of its biggest customers is its chief rival Apple.
So don't be surprised if the new panel makes it onto future iPhones too.
But, chances are, Samsung will get it first. It could even debut on the Galaxy Note 9 (due August 9), if we're lucky.
Almost everyone has suffered a smashed phone screen at some point, making this shatter-proof breakthrough nothing short of revolutionary.
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“The fortified plastic window is especially suitable for portable electronic devices not only because of its unbreakable characteristics, but also because of its lightweight, transmissivity and hardness, which are all very similar to glass,” said Hojung Kim, general manager of the communication team, Samsung Display Company.
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