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What comes after foldable displays? Perhaps, stretchable displays. LG Display demonstrated a prototype panel that measures 12” normally but can be stretched to 18” without damaging it or even interrupting its operation.
This is an improvement on a prototype from 2022, which could stretch from 12” to 14”. That represented a stretch factor of around 120%, while the improved panel can go up to 150% – in other words, it’s more than twice as stretchy.
LG’s stretchable display built into a prototype car dashboard
The panel has a pixel density of 100ppi (presumably measured at its normal 12” size) and is a full RGB display. The improved stretchiness was achieved with new wiring and a special silicon substrate. The pixels are made up of micro-LEDs, which are smaller than 40µm. The display is quite durable and can survive being stretched and released 10,000 times.
LG Display says that stretchable panels can find applications in anything from wearable tech to fashion. It showed off prototypes of car displays and firefighters’ uniforms that use this technology.
If used on foldable phones, stretchy displays shouldn’t have any creases because they can be pulled taut better than current foldable displays. And as you can see in the car display demo above, they can create tactile elements on a previously flat display on demand. Wouldn’t it be cool to have an on-screen QWERTY keyboard with actual buttons?