If you have been reading about the impending release of smartphones with foldable display screens, wait till you see foldable TV screens. The South Korean tech giant LG is said to be working on a Television screen that could be rolled up as you would do with a wall hanging or a calendar.
According to a Bloomberg report, the TV industry is going through a lull right now and this 65-inch TV screen, that can be rolled up, when not in use, might stir up some interest and gain sales volumes over time.
These are OLED screens and possess the capability to be folded as against the LCD and other display panels currently available in the market.
The report pertains to the South Korean market where LG has to comprehend with competition from Chinese TV brands that manage to offer lower prices in the market. LG has already done some downsizing of its workforce and investing in futuristic technologies and products. A prototype of this foldable “rollable” Television has been displayed at LG’s research centre for viewing. The product might hit the market in 2019.
Though TVs with OLED screens really do not add up to much within the overall volumes of televisions sold, the industry expects to garner more volumes in the coming year, at least in terms of absolute numbers of devices sold.
LG is also planning to launch a 5G smartphone in 2019 much like the other Korean major Samsung is doing. The phone might go on sale in the US market first, in association with the carriers there. One may hear a lot about the company’s plans at the MWC 2019 in February.
While the foldable TV is being spoken about, LG does not appear to be in a hurry to launch a smartphone with a foldable screen. The prohibitive cost of making such a device and not finding the buyers to pay up astronomical sums to own the phones appears a tough challenge to LG perhaps.