Foldable phone that folds left and right around the vertical axis
Mass production in July… Securing core technologies such as UTG
It seems to widen the technology gap with competitors
The’pen input’ function will be installed for the first time on a new foldable smartphone released by Samsung Electronics in the third quarter of this year. The company was found to have succeeded in implementing the pen function for foldable smartphones with high technical difficulty. Samsung Electronics, which is the only one in the world to mass-produce foldable smartphones and pioneer a new market, is again widening the technology gap with its competitors.
According to the industry on the 22nd, Samsung Electronics has completed the development of pen input technology for foldable phones and decided to install it on the’Galaxy Z Fold 3′(tentative name) scheduled to be released in the second half of the year. After completing all preparations, Samsung Electronics confirmed its plan to mass-produce related parts from May and finished foldable smartphones from July.
The Galaxy Z Fold 3 is a foldable phone with the left and right sides of the screen folded around the vertical axis. It is a sequel to’Galaxy Fold’, first released in 2019, and’Galaxy Z Fold 2′, released last year. As a flagship model representing Samsung foldable smartphones, the latest technologies are concentrated every year.
The core development task of the Galaxy Z Fold 3 was the implementation of pen input. The goal was to provide a variety of conveniences by spreading the screen left and right to show a large screen, as well as allowing writing like a paper notebook.
However, the realization of this was not easy. Mass production of the foldable display itself was also difficult, because it had to add a pen input function.
In particular, the pen input function was a different level than before. For example, a part (digitizer) that recognizes the movement of a pen must also be foldable. In addition, it must be able to withstand the impact and pressure generated when writing text with the pen on the screen, and foldable glass (UTG) that can withstand scratches or scratches that may occur due to the use of the pen is also essential.
It is known that Samsung Electronics has secured core technologies such as parts and materials to implement the pen input function after years of research and development (R&D).
An industry official who is familiar with the development of Samsung foldable phones said, “We have developed technologies such as digitizers and UTGs that can respond to pen input.
Currently, Samsung Electronics is the only global smartphone industry to mass-produce and release foldable smartphones. Samsung Display, a subsidiary, stably supplies foldable displays, and both companies are synergizing in the foldable field. Foldable smartphones have also been released by Huawei, Motorola, and Royol, but they differ greatly from Samsung in terms of supply and demand for parts and production capacity.
Foldable smartphone pen input is also the first technology implemented in the industry. When Samsung Electronics introduces the final product in the second half of this year, it is expected to strengthen its position in the foldable smartphone market and further widen the technological gap with competitors.
Samsung Electronics said about the pen input for the next foldable phone, “We cannot confirm the contents related to the product to be released.”
Reporter Gunil Yoon [email protected]