Staggering figures revealing the sheer amount Britons spend on mobile phone repairs have sparked rumours about the potentially imminent introduction of flexible displays to the UK market.
The most common cause of smart phone damage is accidental dropping, according to warranty provider Square Trade, with the UK spending approximately nearly a billion on repairs between 2007 and 2012. Experts therefore claim that whilst traditional glass screens tend to shatter or smash, flexible phones will be able to withstand this kind of damage, and will revolutionise our relationship with our mobile devices.
These flexible phones are expected to expand to tablet size, curve their displays so users can wear them on their wrists, and even fold or have the capability to be rolled. But above all, this new technology offers users a much more durable phone.
Though billions of pounds have been put into the research in the last thirty years, the technology has struggled to produce anything viable. However, in the last year huge phone manufacturers have ramped up their activity in this area, proving that the race for the quickest to bring the product to market is on. Brands leading the way include large technology retailers such as LG and Samsung.
However current technological limitations hold back the phone from being produced. For example, manufacturers have had trouble making the screens high definition and bendable. They have also had difficulty in making other components such as the battery flexible as well as the screen. Lastly, cost could hold back a great deal of potential buyers, experts predicting it wouldn’t be until 2018 until the price falls enough to tempt an average smart phone buyer.
Though it is highly likely that in the short term one of the larger Asian manufacturers will be releasing a standard smart phone with aspects of this new technology, it could be some time before a device with the full flexibility can be released, the delay partly due to science, and partly concerning its development and marketability.
