How OLED Changed the Form Factor Game

When hearing the word “Display,” what shape and color comes to mind? Most people might picture a standard black rectangular screen in their head, but that’s all changing with OLED’s unique self-emissive nature enabling completely new form factors for various products and industries.

Let’s find out how OLED is changing the form factor game, from its mesmerizing transparent technology to the rollable displays that must be seen to be believed!

* A Form Factor is a product aspect describing its size, shape, or component layout

Feel ‘Openness’ with Transparent OLED

Unlike conventional displays, OLED is self-emissive and doesn’t require a backlight unit. This gives it the ability to bring next-gen transparent displays into the world like the Transparent OLED panels with 40% transparency being used within the architecture, lifestyle, mobility, and media art spaces. Korea’s largest clothing brand, Musinsa, installed Transparent OLED displays in stores to showcase videos of models wearing their gear and vibrant artworks to give the space a touch of futuristic class without impeding the shopper’s view. At SID 2022, the 55-inch Transparent OLED Blinder was revealed and wowed spectators with its sleek design and unmatched utility. But we’ve only scratched the surface when it comes to how useful Transparent OLED can be, with Transparent OLED being utilized as train windows on the metros in China’s hub cities. What’s more, inspiring artists are using Transparent OLED as a unique canvas to create masterpieces within a whole new media art genre!

Adjust to the ‘Desirable Curvature’ with Bendable OLED

OLED has also challenged the ‘flat display’ norm. Through its distinctive razor-thin design, Bendable OLED can be shaped into different forms and is taking gaming to a whole new level. The unique level of immersion created by a display that curves on command cannot be underestimated, switching from one form factor to another to create the most immersive gameplay according to the game being played. In fact, an LG Display study found that most gamers experience the most realistic gameplay and concentration at 800R or a radius of 800mm – a curvature possible on LG Display’s Bendable OLED.

‘One Device, Multiple Sizes’ with Foldable OLED

It’s this remarkable thinness that allows OLED to be folded and unfolded without compromising display quality and performance. Foldable OLED offers new convenience because it lets the user carry a large display around freely, folding it in half when one’s on the move or simply wants a smaller screen. LG Display introduced its next-gen foldable technology at SID 2022 in San Jose in May, with the largest-ever foldable device, the 17–inch Foldable Laptop, along with possibly the most innovative to date, the 360° Foldable OLED, the two showstoppers of the entire event. The 17-inch Foldable OLED allows users to enjoy one device in various ways and forms – from a tablet to a laptop to even a portable monitor. The display is also equipped total touch solutions that enable people to use it with either a pen or one’s fingers. Meanwhile, the 360° Foldable OLED breaks away from the conventional foldable structure by being able to fold in both inward and outward directions with minimized creasing. Not only do such innovations offer a glimpse into the future with the most evolved form factors yet, they also offer expanded usability and convenience.

Add ‘Flexibility’ into Usage with Rollable OLED

Another form factor made possible by OLED is the rollable display which is rewriting the definition of the TV. While conventional TVs have been specifically designed for watching broadcasts, rollable TVs have been engineered to be multifunctional home entertainment hubs that allow you to watch videos, admire paintings, and much more by rolling the display up or down to watch content in the perfect aspect ratio.

Rollable TVs are masters of space utilization too. Existing TVs have no choice but to live on one side of the room due to their large volume, resulting in the same living room ambience in every home. Rollable TVs don’t have to be placed in front of or hung from a wall because its display can be rolled up and hidden when not in use, helping it blend seamlessly into any décor.

The display is developing into all kinds of shapes and sizes that go way beyond the black rectangular screen of the past! Our lives will become far more advanced and convenient as diversified displays make their way into our lives and new industries, and LG Display will continue to innovate the form factors capable of changing the world for the better based on its world-class OLED technology.