Are flexible displays the future of touchscreen devices?

We’ve touched the flexible display topic here quite a few times and now we have even more info to talk about. It seems that big manufacturers like Sony and LG are taking this idea very seriously and plan future devices with flexible displays. The flexible display idea is not new, but till today nobody was able to build a prototype that could display color video while flexed. Sony did it, and they even have a video to prove it. LG doesn’t have a prototype right now, but has patented a few flexible display types a few days ago.

I won’t get too much into details about the two technologies but I’ll try and describe the future where we will all use flexible displays of some sort. Seems too far fetched? Well, not quite, if you think of the advantages of using flexible displays on every day’s gadgets. First of all, a flexible display is quite thin, so that it will be able to bend easily without breaking. Thin means low volume and low weight, two things people love about gadgets. That’s why many users are now looking towards smaller and smaller gadgets. So it’s clear that flexible displays are on the right path with this necessity for a modern gadget.

Sony flexible OLED display prototype

Now, being thin means also that a flexible display can be used as an external monitor in form of a piece of paper (so we’re back to reading newspapers the right way), with info being fed to it wirelessly (in case the other components can’t be integrated into the display already). Imagine you’re using a smartphone that outputs video to a bigger display that can easily be stored in one of your pockets, without the problem o being bent till it breaks. This solves one of the problem with modern mobile devices: screens are too small to read, even if the have big pixel count. Keeping your eyesight accuracy is something people look into, so flexible displays could have rapid ascension rate once first few generations hit the market and solve the inevitable problems of first comers.

That’s it for now. Take a look below at the flexible display announced today by Sony: