We were hopeful that we would see Samsung’s flexible display by the end of the year, but 2014 seems more likely. In the meantime, we can get a little taste of what is coming from a couple of patent filings. The first one is based on the overall design and interaction from the controller that detects how much the display is bent. The above image shows a controller that controls the image displayed based on bending information received by the sensor. The display can be bent concavely or convexly and the display will zoom in or zoom out accordingly. You can even roll the display. The touch screen is capacitive and includes a top film, a first layer, and second layer. The bottom includes the ”bending detection part”.
The second patent involves curved smartphone displays. The Galaxy Nexus already featured a slight curve, but this patent implies that the curve would be horizontal rather than vertical. You will notice in the image below that there is a flip-out feature around the camera. Unfortunately this design patent doesn’t explain it. Your guess is as good as mine. Maybe better.
Sources: Patentbolt (1) / Patenbolt (2)
Come comment on this article: Recent Samsung patent filings reveal how flexible displays will work