Apple develops thinner OLED displays for its foldable devices

The market for foldable smartphones is of great interest to Apple. However, the apple firm did not always get started. However, it is developing new types of screens to adopt this technology on iPhone and iPad. A new report has just revealed that the company is currently working on thinner OLED panels suitable for these devices.

As the site 9to5Google points out, the challenge in creating foldable screens for smartphone manufacturers is simple: make them thin enough to allow them to “survive continuous folding and unfolding for several years”. However, OLED panels had multiple distinct layers dedicated to different functions to make the display work properly (backlight, content, touch, filtering, protection…). The trend is therefore to combine these layers in order to offer thinner and lighter screens.

For example, Samsung came to remove the polarizing layer on the Galaxy Z Fold 3 in order to make the screen thinner. Apple is working on its own technology to gain finesse on OLED panels. According to a new report from The Elec, we learn that “Apple has started the development of an OLED panel that does not use a polarizer“. In detail, the site recalls that “polarizers are used to let only lights pass in certain directions, thus improving the visibility of the screen“.

However, there are drawbacks to removing this layer. Indeed, The Elec explains that the use of panels without the latter “reduces the brightness, which affects the efficiency of the luminance of the panel”. To address this issue, “companies generally increase the energy consumption of panels to compensate for this phenomenon, but this also leads to a decrease in the life of the panels. The removal of the polarizer and the application of technology with a similar effect solve these problems, “says the Korean media.

For your information, Samsung’s screen technology without polarizing layer has made it possible to transmit a third more lights and offer a 25% energy saving. Now it remains to be seen what screen technology is preparing Apple for its first foldable products to ensure an optimal experience for its customers. As a reminder, the Apple firm designs its own screens and then subcontracts production with different companies, including Samsung and LG.