Samsung and LG preview the future of weird phone displays

Future foldables could move on from the single-fold design to fold twice, use displays that are capable of folding both inwards and out, or even use rolling screens to expand. If manufacturers embrace the new folding screen technologies being shown off by the two companies this week in San Jose, California, it will be a sign of things to come.

We saw the Ultra Flex concept earlier this year, and now we see an 8-inch foldable screen from the same company. The design allows a single folding display to serve as both an inner and outer screen. It could be done without the need to have an inner and an outer display in favor of just one large screen.

It can be folded over 200,000 times before it starts to break, and it uses a special folding structure. The inner display on the Mate X2 has a resolution of 2,480 x 2,200, which is the same as the display on Gizmodo.

Not to be outdone, the same company is showing off a foldable technology of its own. The Flex G and Flex S displays have screens that are able to fold twice. The Flex G and Flex S both fold in the same way, like a tri-fold wallet, but the Flex S folds inwards and outwards like a paper map.

There are two sliding phones with screens that can unfurl vertically or horizontally. Over the years, we have seen a lot of rollable concepts from companies such as TCL, Oppo, and even LG. Despite the interest, no rollable displays have yet made it to market.

These are some of the new form-factors that the two companies are showing off at the show. Both companies are investing a lot of money in screens that are designed for gaming, such as a laptop screen with a 240Hz refresh rate, or a folding screen that has game controllers attached to both ends. The 17-inch foldable laptop has a big folding screen, which is similar to the one on the phone.

As the display divisions of their respective South Korean tech giants, neither of them actually produce the consumer devices that their panels end up in. Because they supply displays to some of the world's biggest consumer tech companies, showcases like Display Week can give us an interesting glimpse of where foldable devices are headed in the years to come.