At CES 2023 in Las Vegas, Samsung is showing off an innovative new folding display that can also slide out to offer even more visual real estate. Folding displays are becoming more common every year, thanks in no small measure to Samsung's Galaxy Fold and Galaxy Flip lineups. Google is also rumored to launch its first folding smartphone, called the Pixel Fold, in the second half of 2023. Sliding displays, however, are yet to become mainstream, although Samsung has been demo-ing prototype devices at various trade shows over the past couple of years.
Called 'Flex Hybrid,' Samsung's new prototype foldable combines a folding display with sliding technology to offer a whole new form factor. According to Samsung Display, the Flex Hybrid has foldable technology applied to the left side of the screen, while the sliding technology is on the right side of the display. It can be opened like any mainstream folding display to offer a large 10.5-inch screen with a 4:3 aspect ratio, much like a standard tablet. However, people needing even more screen real estate could stretch it further to 12.4 inches with a 16:10 aspect ratio.
Samsung's Folding And Sliding Displays
There's no more information on the Flex Hybrid, so it isn't immediately clear how Samsung wants to market it once it's ready for prime time. However, it will likely remain in the prototype stage for the foreseeable future as the company works to iron out the kinks. Despite being far from commercialized, the Flex Hybrid offers an insight into what may be in store for next-gen mobile devices.
Along with the Flex Hybrid, Samsung is showing off a 17-inch prototype display that could be used in future tablets or laptops. The panel, previewed at Intel Innovation 2022 in September by Samsung Display CEO JS Choi, has two concepts - the Flex Slidable Solo and Flex Slidable Duet. While the former can only expand the screen in one direction, the latter can go in both directions. It measures 13 to 14 inches at its smallest but expands to 17.3 inches, great for productivity, gaming, and media consumption.
The Flex Hybrid and the Flex Slidable displays show how mobile devices could evolve in the near future. While a lot could change by the time the underlying technologies in these devices are commercialized, they could revolutionize how people interact with their mobile phones, tablets, and laptops in the coming years. Meanwhile, along with folding and sliding displays, Samsung is also expected to announce its next-gen QD-OLED TV lineup at CES 2023.
Source: Samsung Display