Smartphones have come a long way since the magic of the first touchscreen capable device in the 1990s. As capabilities begin to plateau and consumer demand grows for devices that address lifestyle needs, the next-generation of devices will see the reimagination of designs and functionality to meet that need. New concepts and innovations are beginning to be presented at every turn, all revolutionizing the way smartphones look, feel and function.
Manufacturing advancements have already begun to introduce marvelous possibilities. Flexible organic light-emitting diode (OLED) screens that allow users to twist bend, squeeze and even fold them in different ways. Arguably, the smartphone display screen is the most important, especially when it’s a feature that consumers literally set their sights on everyday.
More than meets the eye
The size of a smartphone is often tied to the display screen, and some are so big that they wouldn’t easily fit into a pocket. What if it was possible to consolidate these screens into a display that extends when watching a video or minimizes when replying an email?
Imagine doing away with the struggle of picking the right device with a concept rollable smartphone, which redefines the norms of smartphone displays and inevitably, the design and functionality of the device. By incorporating a flexible OLED screen, the OPPO X 2021 concept phone introduces an innovative retractable display that can be adjusted from 6.7 inches to 7.4 inches in diagonal.
In the process of doing this, optimizations were also made to the design of the phone in order to support its flexible and retractable screen through a set of proprietary technologies to solve the potential issues that may arise due to inclusion of this thin and flexible screen.
OPPO’s R&D in flexible display and structural stacking.
A Roll Motor powertrain employs a balanced force technology for the OLED flexible screen ensures that the screen does not fold but bend and roll smoothly as it extends or retracts. Additionally, a 2-in-1 Plate featuring two support substrates that come close together to form a single surface reinforces the screen without any segment gaps, preventing the screen from collapsing when it is retracted. Another consideration is the durability of flexible screens. A Warp Track high-strength screen laminate was created to raise the overall strength and durability of the screen.
with high-strength rolled steel.
Compared to foldable displays that are currently in the market, rollable displays are easily adjustable between their minimum and maximum sizes, opening up more possibilities for productivity, entertainment, and daily use.
Stepping into the future
Imagine having a feature on the smartphone that recognizes your location and automatically adapts its screen size to provide you with the optimal display settings to support and assist you with your tasks. For instance, prompting if you would like to extend your smartphone’s display while you are in the office or in school to increase your productivity or even to reduce the size of your screen when it detects that you are about to enter a movie theatre or a gym to minimize distractions.
We are in an era where concepts such as this are not as far-fetched as we think they would be. OPPO’s CybeReal augmented reality application intelligently uses GPS, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth on the phone device in conjunction with simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) spatial positioning and artificial intelligence view identification algorithm to better understand the user’s location and environment.
This enables real-time high-precision localisation up to the centimetres and accurate scenario recognition. Pair this up with the rollable concept smartphone and consumers will be equipped with an intelligent device that adapts to the users’ lifestyle instead of the other way around.
Technology companies are beginning to develop products and services with one thing in mind – that is to have them work better with people, prioritising on intuitiveness and catering to different lifestyles and user needs. At OPPO, we believe that products should empower people, bringing benefits to users and helping everyone get the best of their lives. It is essential to build technical capabilities, but it is even more important to integrate them innovatively.
Consumers will begin to see a flurry of innovations and features being introduced in the upcoming years that will transform their smartphones from being just smart devices into an extension of the user. The rollable screen and real-time high precision positioning technologies that we have introduced are just stepping stones that will introduce the new generation of smartphones.
*This featured story is provided by OPPO.
