LG, which will leave the smartphone market in 2021, is still developing a device with a sliding screen, a new patent has revealed.
Here’s What We Know
A recently published patent shows that LG is working on technology that allows the screen to unfold, turning a compact phone into a tablet. While this doesn’t mean LG’s return to the smartphone market, the company could supply such displays to other manufacturers such as Huawei, HONOR, OPPO and Motorola.
A video of LG’s 2022 Rollable device, which features an innovative sliding screen, has surfaced on the internet. The OLED display in this smartphone expands from 6.8 inches to 7.4 inches thanks to a motorised mechanism, the device also features a rear notification screen, a Snapdragon 888 processor, 12GB of RAM and a 4,500mAh battery.
The stretchable display in this device had creases and durability issues, so there’s every reason to believe that this patent is meant to address that problem.
The device uses a magnetic system to address this shortcoming, as described in the patent: a magnetic sheet is mounted on the back of the display, and magnets are embedded in the frame. The magnetic force helps smooth out creases and ensures that the display returns to its original smooth state more quickly.
Interestingly, LG stopped developing the rollable device project back in February 2021, with a video of the LG Rollable appearing around September 2022. The patent application was later filed in October 2023 and published now in October 2024. This means that LG may not have completely given up on its idea of a rollable device and may still be about to fully realise its project soon.
Whether this patent will manifest itself in an actual LG device – time will tell…..
Source: MSPowerUser
