LG Rollable Display - New Era in Product Design

Tech fans are eagerly soaking up all the latest tech news from the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas called CES that always generates tremendous excitement at the beginning of every year. As we anxiously prepare to experience the future and patiently await the headlines around virtual reality, smart homes, drones and driverless cars, it's the news that LG is set to unveil a 18-inch paper-thin TV display that is the first product to capture the imagination of tech lovers in both Vegas and online.

Upon learning how the world’s first TV display can be rolled up like a newspaper, you could be forgiven for thinking to yourself "really, but why?" But hang in there as there is much more to this story than what your first impressions might lead you to believe. 

The future vision entails users carrying screens that can be rolled up and put into their pockets or wrapped around interior spaces. These concepts are often created to illustrate the power of what is possible, so forget about your living room for a moment and try to imagine the almost endless array of electronics applications and devices that could utilize this technology.

Almost every arena, sporting venue, concert or shopping mall is starting to host walls of screens that aim to engage and interact with audiences who expect businesses to lead the way with technology and give them the wow! factor. These commercial and automotive display markets are also in very high demand from businesses looking to monetize their consumers’ dwell time as they gaze at screens of technological wonder. 

It seems that LG has far-reaching ambitions with OLED (organic light-emitting diodes) technology. OLED is made possible by delivering electricity through certain materials that glow red, green and blue, unlike other technologies. LCD for example uses color filters and liquid crystals that block light to create an image while the aging plasmas use UV light by triggering pockets of gas that create red, green and blue phosphors. 

In a nutshell, OLED technology is unique with its ability to offer thinner and more flexible televisions than anything else available. LG have put their money where their mouth is and invested $8.7 billion into the development of OLED so do expect all eyes to be on these revolutionary new sets.

Many of you will remember how LG revealed an OLED panel that was under 1mm thick and could be stuck on the wall back in May last year. Even this latest 18-Inch flexible display first appeared as a prototype back in 2014, but this is the moment that the screen gets formally unveiled for the very first time.

Flexible screens are not an entirely new concept when considering the curved edges of Samsung’s Galaxy S6 Edge smartphones. However, this latest offering from LG appears to be taking things to the next level.

There is so much more to this story than its just being a TV that can be folded like a newspaper like the countless headlines will have you believe. Although we are extremely unlikely to find these wrap around screens delivered and embraced by mainstream audiences this year, the big story here is how this concept will revolutionize the shapes and designs of almost any device that you can possibly think of.

I believe this technology will fuel change in the consumer electronics product design process led by by LG. We are undoubtedly in the middle of a digital transition where it won’t be long until everything we own will be connected via the internet and smartphones, and it now appears that there could be an era of edgeless devices with wrap-around screens that will make things even more interesting for us. 

CES is barely underway, and we already have a glimpse into our future. It appears that once again this will be an incredibly exciting start to the new year and further illustrates how all our lives are touched by technology.

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