New leaks have revealed that Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi has created a bendable, touch-sensitive display that could feature on a future device.
Up until now, both Samsung and LG have been competitively driving research into foldable or bendable display technology. Now, it would appear that Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi has created its own take on what a flexible smartphone display should look like.
While Samsung is reportedly readying two flexible – or foldable – devices as part of its Project Valley initiative and LG has created a rollable OLED panel, Xiaomi’s display appears to be one of the first tangible screens that could one day come aboard a flexible device.
Watch: Apple patents flexible display tech that mimics physical buttons
A leaked 30-second video, posted online, shows a user bend the screen in multiple directions. While the device isn’t folded or rolled, it poses an interesting future for the everyday smartphone; LG attempted a similar marketing campaign in early 2015 with the curved LG G4 and the semi-flexible LG G Flex 2.
The video depicts the device using the screen as running Xiaomi’s latest Android update in the form of MIU8.
Bloomberg reports that Samsung might be able to beat Xiaomi to the punch with the release of two bendable OLED screens in 2017; one device would supposedly fold in half, while the other would expand from 5″ to become an 8″ tablet. It would seem that the integration of a bendable display might become the next frontier that hybrid smartphones or laptops have to cross.
Read: Lenovo shows off its concept for a flexible, wrist-worn phone
What are your thoughts? Would you buy a smartphone with a bendable display, or do you feel that’s an unnecessary novelty? Be sure to let us know your opinion in the comments below!
Follow Bryan Smith on Twitter: @bryansmithSA
