Samsung Display Providing Foldable Screens To Vivo And Xiaomi

Recently, Korean news outlet ETNews reported that Samsung is selling its ultra-thin glass (UTG) to Google for an upcoming foldable phone. Now, another Korean news outlet, TheElec, reports that the company is also supplying foldable OLED displays to two other brands. They are Vivo and Xiaomi, which are also poised to release their own foldable phones.

The report states that Google’s device will make use of a 7.6-inch panel that folds inwards. No mention of a secondary display for this one as of yet. As for Vivo’s model, it is said to be getting an 8-inch main screen and a 6.5-inch secondary screen. No details on the new Xiaomi foldable phone, though.

Among the three brands now buying displays from Samsung, only Xiaomi has experience in making a foldable phone. The company announced the Mi Mix Fold back in March. Chances are we will see something similar when the new model gets released.

Incidentally, the report also says that the OLED panel production for all three companies will only start in October. The report goes on to say that all three will be revealed in the fourth quarter of the year. With both display production and announcement happening in the same time window, their availability seems unlikely to be within 2021.

Samsung Display Providing Foldable Screens To Vivo And Xiaomi

Recently, Korean news outlet ETNews reported that Samsung is selling its ultra-thin glass (UTG) to Google for an upcoming foldable phone. Now, another Korean news outlet, TheElec, reports that the company is also supplying foldable OLED displays to two other brands. They are Vivo and Xiaomi, which are also poised to release their own foldable phones.

The report states that Google’s device will make use of a 7.6-inch panel that folds inwards. No mention of a secondary display for this one as of yet. As for Vivo’s model, it is said to be getting an 8-inch main screen and a 6.5-inch secondary screen. No details on the new Xiaomi foldable phone, though.

Among the three brands now buying displays from Samsung, only Xiaomi has experience in making a foldable phone. The company announced the Mi Mix Fold back in March. Chances are we will see something similar when the new model gets released.

Incidentally, the report also says that the OLED panel production for all three companies will only start in October. The report goes on to say that all three will be revealed in the fourth quarter of the year. With both display production and announcement happening in the same time window, their availability seems unlikely to be within 2021.

iPhone Screens With 120Hz Refresh Rate Enters Production

Rumours of an iPhone generation featuring a display with 120Hz refresh rate started with the iPhone 12. That didn’t happen, as all four variants sport the standard 60Hz refresh rate displays. But that didn’t stop the rumour from resurfacing for this year’s model. Such displays have reportedly entered their production stage.

South Korean news outlet The Elec reports that Samsung and LG have both started the production of said display. The outlet’s sources claim that the former started production in the middle of the month. The latter, on the other hand, began production more recently.

Also included in the report is the fact that this production run started a month early compared to last year. Apple itself made the request to start production earlier. This could suggest that the iPhone maker intends to introduce this year’s phones a month earlier than it did in 2020, which was in October.

While the 120Hz display is the more recent of rumours surrounding this year’s iPhones, they are not the only one. Others, some dating all the way back to 2019, include the lack of a Lightning connector port, or just ports in general. Then there’s the alleged design leaks of a mini variant, which contradicts the one on portless design.

Apple Patent Describes Showing 3D Images On Flat Screens Without Need For Glasses

Getting 3D images to work on consumer devices, especially without the need for specialised glasses, is not easy. But an Apple patent describes a method that the company is considering using to make it happen. But while it answers that half of the equation, it raises more on the other.

The Apple patent describes getting a flat screen, presumably that of an iPhone or iPad, to show 3D images for VR and AR content. But this doesn’t involve having two screens for the way VR and AR headsets work. Instead, it will alternate rows of pixels in a screen, so that one set of pixel rows show one image, and the other shows the second.

But as mentioned earlier, the patent only describes the way the screen will simulate the overlapping of two images for the 3D effect. What the patent doesn’t mention is the user side of things. Like the way this will help users create the 3D depth without the help of glasses or goggles. Nor does it say if there’s any supporting tech, like gaze detection that we see on the Nintendo 3DS.

As is always the case with patents, having one filed doesn’t mean Apple will actually make something with this tech. And considering the challenges behind it, it probably won’t be anytime soon until we see it, if ever.