Rollable devices are soon going to become a common sight in our lives. Just 2 days back, we posted an article on Oppo’s rollable concept phone, the Oppo X 2021. But just last month, LG already introduced their rollable TV and even launched it at an albeit expensive price of $87k. Nevertheless, rollable tech is closer than we thought, and LG is already patenting their latest rollable tech, the rollable laptop. Foldable smartphones from various companies like Huawei, Samsung, and Motorola have been out for a while now, and while those phones are unique, it hasn’t caught the attention of the larger crowd, mostly for reasons being unattractive, or too expensive, or both. Thus rollable phones come to the rescue, and should be available for the common man in 2022 to 2025.
LG and their innovative tech
LG is yet to launch a foldable smartphone. However, they have released interesting products like their rollable smart TV(LG Signature OLED TV R) which no company has launched yet, as well as LG Wing, a swivel display smartphone. LG also plans to unveil their rollable smartphone next year, so fingers crossed for it’s launch!
This LG patent was first reported by Root MyGalaxy but the publication does not say anything about when and at which office this patent was filed. LG also filed a patent on a rollable display system that could be used in laptops, tablets, and even smartphones. For example, a Notebook with a 13.3 inch screen could become a 17 inch laptop when unfolded.
The patent describes a display panel that uses a flexible substrate instead of glass. This allows the screen to be folded or rolled. In this case, it would be wound around a cylindrical drum or roller, with a portion of the display hidden inside the device when you’re not using it. But when unrolled, it extends the display area in a way that should give you a larger display without any creases or lines separating sections because it’s all a single display.
LG also mentioned that in order for the rollable display to be held firmly in an upright position, the display panel needs to be thin and light, and it should be bent into an “arc shape so that the rollable display is self-standing” and can “be maintained in an unfolded state without an additional structure” and the patent outlines several possible methods for achieving this.Some possible laptop/tablet systems described in the application include a device that has a detachable keyboard, or one that has a rollable keyboard as well as a rollable display.
Do note that LG filing a patent application does not mean that the company plans to actually produce a laptop with a rollable display, and this application doesn’t provide all the details for the other technical challenges that would be involved in making a laptop capable of working with such a display.
But it does look like someone at LG is at least considering this application of flexible display technology.
Interested in getting your hands on a foldable laptop? Do let us know in the comments below.
