Japan Display (JDI) is a name you might have never heard before, but you may be reading this bit of news on one of its products. The multi-billion dollar company is a manufacturer of small- and medium-sized displays, including ones that go into well-known smartphones and tablets.
And JDI’s latest development is a curious one – an LCD screen with flexible properties. The accent is on LCD here, as this is an industry breakthrough. Previous developments in the field have been based on OLED technology, which is why all existing phones with curved screens employ AMOLED displays. As of now, this flexible LCD screen can’t bend as much as an OLED alternative, but it could be cheaper to produce in large quantities. If there’s demand for it, of course.
Speaking of the iPhone, Japan Display is known for providing Apple with displays for use in previous iPhone models. Hence, it would come as no surprise if its flexible display ends up in a future iPhone model. Would this be the iPhone 8, expected to launch in late 2017? Well, most likely not, even though that particular iPhone is rumored to come with a screen that wraps around its edges. JDI’s curved display, as awesome as it may look, will not be reaching mass production until 2018.
As we mentioned, the flexible screen tech that Japan Display has developed is more along the lines of the S7 edge and other handsets with screens that slope and curve over the edge of the handset, and while there’s no doubt that this is still a very cool feature and something to keep an eye out for with 2017’s iPhone release, don’t start holding your breath just yet for an iPhone that you can bend.
