Samsung Announces 'Unbreakable' OLED Smartphone Panel

Samsung has announced a new 'unbreakable' smartphone panel that has been certified by Underwriters Laboratories (UL). The flexible OLED panel features an 'unbreakable' substrate and an overlay window securely adhered to it, rather than a glass-covered window used by current generation flexible displays.

“The fortified plastic window is especially suitable for portable electronic devices not only because of its unbreakable characteristics, but also because of its lightweight, transmissivity and hardness, which are all very similar to glass,” said Hojung Kim, general manager of the Communication Team, Samsung Display Company.

The display passed the rigorous real-time durability test that is based on military standards set by the U.S. Department of Defense. After a drop test administered at 1.2 meters (nearly 4 feet) above the ground 26 times in succession, and accompanying high (71 degrees) and low (-32 degrees) temperature tests, the Samsung unbreakable panel continued to function normally with no damage to its front, sides or edges.


In addition to being used on smartphones, the newly developed display is expected to find viable markets with other electronic products such as display consoles for automobiles, mobile military devices, portable game consoles and tablet PCs for e-learning.

Samsung also notes that in a subsequent 1.8M (nearly 6 feet) drop test the panel operated normally with no sign of damage.

It's unclear if the company plans to use the display in its upcoming Galaxy Note smartphone or whether Apple plans to use the panel in a future iPhone. Please follow iClarified on Twitter, Facebook, or RSS for updates.