LG has developed an industry-first stretchable display that bends, twists and stretches like a taffy, from 12 inches to 18 inches.
The display is just a prototype, but it could have useful applications for wearables, cars, smartphones and other industries in the future. For example, flexible material it can be used to make clothes and bags.
LG showed off the display on Friday at the LG Science Park in Seoul, South Korea, for it more than 100 viewers. Its 50% magnification rate is the highest in the industry and it has a resolution of 100 pixels per inch. The screen gives full color.
LG screen. Credit: LG
LG has been working on flexible screens for years. In 2019, the company launched a TV with a flip screen on base when not in use. However, LG discontinued 65-inch TV, $100,000 in May 2024 after slow sales.
In 2022, the company appeared a 12-inch screen that can stretch up to 14 inches. To create the screen, LG used a silicon base material like that used for contact lenses. They placed micro-LEDs and spring-like circuits on top to create a display capable of being twisted, stretched and folded without any damage.
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LG's stretchable displays have already made an impact in the fashion industry. In September, displays were seen on the runway at Seoul Fashion Week, fronting clothing and bags designed by Youn-Hee Park and Chung-Chung Lee. Designers used 12-inch screens that could stretch up to 14 inches.
“We've been able to design future fashion concepts with new materials that have never existed before,” Park said in a press release.
An outfit with a 12- to 14-inch stretch screen embedded in the front. Credit: LG
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LG's competitors are also working on flexible displays. In August, Samsung publicly displayed a prototype of a stretched screen for the first time. The microLED screen can be stretched up to 125% of its original size and has a resolution of 120 pixels per inch.
Samsung put the screen on a smartphone and demonstrated how it could move to show the topography of a map. The screen can be raised to show the presence of a mountain, for example.