Display

Indium is one of the rarest metals on Earth, but it’s a key ingredient in ubiquitous electronic devices. Engineers have demonstrated a way to swap indium for graphene, which is made from common carbon, while retaining the same electronic properties.

Though LG Display's transparent OLED technology has mostly been presented in concept form, the panels have made it out into the real world. And the company is hoping to seed more potential use cases with a bunch of new prototypes headed for CES 2022.

Back in 2015, a startup hit Kickstarter to fund development and production of a device that would extend laptop display real estate by adding two extra screens. After numerous delays and issues, the company began shipping the first batch this month.

Although we've heard about "smart" fabrics which could be used in clothing that displays data, it's unlikely that most garments will ever be made of such materials. The PocketView system, however, shines its display through existing "dumb" textiles.

Back in 2016, startup Arovia launched a portable, pop-up display solution called SPUD. Now the company is set to launch a brighter, higher-res, more compact follow up called Splay, and has added a neat projector mode too.

LG Chem says it's cracked the issue of less-than-durable folding screens on smartphones with the development of a new outer film it's calling the Real Folding Window that's reported as hard as glass and as flexible as plastic.

Back at Display Week 2021 in May, Samsung Display offered a very brief look at a swanky multi-fold smartphone prototype it was working on. Just one photo in fact. Now the concept has made it out onto the show floor at iMiD 2021.

Samsung started scaling The Wall back in 2018 with a modular 146-inch display. A few larger models followed, and now the company is getting down to business for the 2021 model, a monstrous 1,000-inch version aimed at commercial applications.

After raising over $2.5 million on Kickstarter last year for a personal holographic display called Portrait, the Looking Glass Factory has now announced the launch of the second generation of its 4K UHD and 8K models.

Working to widen the applications for electronic paper technology are scientists at Sweden's University of Technology, whose latest display takes on an inverted design to offer a full array of accurate and brilliant colors.

Smart specs don't always need to be packed with tech to be useful – like the new NXTWEAR G from TCL, which are powered by a smartphone, tablet, or laptop and act as an external screen for that device, one that can reach a virtual size of 140 inches.

Samsung Display has been teasing some of the screen technology that it's working on for future smartphones, as part of the Display Week 2021 virtual conference. We've got foldables, slideables, and an under-display camera.