Samsung foldable phone designs have improved since the first Galaxy Fold and the screen-peeling fiasco. Display advances have made foldable more durable. Samsung Display’s current models employ Ultra Thin Glass (UTG), but it may not be up to snuff for tablet-sized panels, so the company is apparently mulling a swap for extra-large-screen foldables.
Galaxy Z Flip 4 and Z Fold 4 use UTG to safeguard their foldable OLED displays. UTG works well on 7- to 8-inch phones, balancing durability and display clarity. “Glass is glass, and glass breaks,” explains YouTuber Zach Nelson of JerryRigEverything. Ultra Thin Glass’s limited shock resistance makes it unsuitable for larger displays. On smaller foldable phones, it can be a pricey material.
Lenovo has used polyimide (PI) films for the ThinkPad X1 Fold’s top layer. Deformable LG Display devices use PI films. Display clarity is sacrificed for structural integrity and longevity. Samsung Display may also switch, according to The Elec (via SamMobile). The first-generation Samsung Galaxy Fold’s screen was PI. Since then, the material may have improved, allowing Samsung Display to reevaluate.
SamMobile says in its blogpost that instead of combining both techniques, Samsung chose PI films. The first foldable Galaxy tablet or notebook probably won’t feature UTG display protection.
Samsung used PI films for the 2019 Galaxy Fold. Since then, Samsung has turned to UTG, a better solution than PI. Okay, for little devices. UTG seems too brittle for large-screen tablets and notebooks, thus we expect Samsung to come up with a better solution than UTG or PI.
Samsung’s now trying PI films. No news yet on when Samsung may expand its foldable device selection. Time will tell when Samsung will add a third foldable device to its lineup.