LG, which will exit the smartphone market in 2021, is developing a device with a sliding screen, a new patent reveals.
Here’s what we know
A recently published patent shows that LG is working on technology that expands the screen to turn a compact phone into a tablet. This does not mean that LG will return to the smartphone market, but the company may supply such displays to other manufacturers such as Huawei, HONOR, OPPO, Motorola, etc.
A video of LG’s 2022 rollable device with an innovative sliding screen has surfaced on the internet. The smartphone’s OLED display has been expanded from 6.8 inches to 7.4 inches thanks to a motorized mechanism, and it also features a rear notification screen, Snapdragon 888 processor, 12GB RAM, and 4,500mAh battery.
The device’s stretchable display had issues with wrinkles and durability, so there’s good reason to believe this patent aims to address that issue.
As described in this patent, the device uses a magnetic system to address this drawback. A magnetic sheet is attached to the back of the display and magnets are embedded in the frame. The magnetic force will smooth out wrinkles and return your display to its original smooth state more quickly.
Interestingly, LG stopped the development of the rollable device project in February 2021, and the LG Rollable video was released around September 2022. The patent application was then filed in October 2023 and now published in October 2024. This means that LG may not have fully completed development. Although the company has given up on the idea of a rollable device, it may still be close to fully realizing the project.
Only time will tell if this patent shows up in actual LG devices.
sauce: MS power user
