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Imagine a display as flexible as plastic wrap—so malleable you could stretch it over your face in a futuristic impression of expert Saran-wrapping serial killer Dexter. LG is supposing the future will be full of such flexible displays, and its latest rendition of the concept screen is capable of stretching up to 50% of its normal length, mainly thanks to the same material used in contact lenses.
The latest version of the concept display is similar to the one LG unveiled in 2022. That display could stretch from 12 to 14 inches, but the new version can extend from 12 to 18 inches. More than that, the latest version is stretchable, twistable, and still includes full-color thanks to its microLED. Like OLED, this display type allows for its self-emitting glow without any kind of backlight. MicroLED is so minuscule, it allows researchers to come up with some unique use cases, such as LG’s prototype.
© Image: LG The Laffy Taffy screen uses a “special silicon material substrate,” according to LG. It’s the same kind of material used in soft contact lenses, and it’s wired in such a way that you can morph it without fear of breaking it. LG said it can be folded and stretched “over 10,000 times” and still maintain a clear image. That doesn’t necessarily mean it will survive rough usage. We’ll be excited to see if LG ever presents it in the wild. As for survivability, other major tech companies like Apple have also shared concepts for “self-healing” displays for future foldable phones or tablets.
LG said this new display is 100 ppi (pixels per inch), though that pixel density doesn’t exactly match up to what users expect with modern smartphones. The iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro sport a 460 ppi screen, for example, and the Google Pixel 9 Pro’s display is 495 ppi. As it stands, we don’t assume the material will be good for mobile devices. Besides, Motorola has already shown off a wrist-mounted, bendy phone prototype, and we’re still trying to figure out who the hell would want something like that.
What’s the point of a super-malleable display? LG says this is practical for irregular and curved surfaces. LG suggested it could be attached to clothing, like a firefighters’ uniform for “real-time information.” But I’m imagining we’d see people become walking billboards to fill streets with even more ads.
LG is also the company working on transparent OLEDs, but flexible screens may have more applications beyond sheer novelty. We also don’t know what kinds of costs this would mean for consumers, but microLED is still so new that any futuristic, fold-out display can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. LG’s own famed rollable OLED cost $87,000 at launch. Samsung’s micro-LEDs of the flat panel variety currently only come in 89, 101, and 114 inches. The largest one goes for $150,000.
More than likely, these stretchable screens won’t be available in any user-end product for some time. But LG invited us to imagine the screen stretched over a small mound to act like a faux-dial on your car’s center console. Personally, I much prefer physical controls for my car, and I’m not alone. Last year, Volkswagen learned that lesson the hard way and has reintroduced physical controls into its next-gen cars. This came after years of promoting all-touchscreen interiors, to many users’ chagrin.
