Samsung's 'unbreakable' display survives UL scrutiny
Phone makers have promised unbreakable phone screens for years, but they tend to involve awkward compromises like soft, scratchable surfaces. Samsung Display might just fulfill that promise, though. Underwriters Laboratories certified an "unbreakable" Samsung panel (
not yet pictured) as capable of surviving military-grade durability tests without damage. This included dropping it 26 times from a height of four feet [1.2 meters] and subjecting it to extreme temperatures. It even survived a drop test at 6 feet [1.8 meters] without any battle scars.Update: Samsung Display posted a video of its new screen [1m55s video], showing how its lightweight plastic cover compares to traditional glass. In the video it survives several strikes from a hammer with no damage to show for it.
Also at The Verge.
Related Stories
Royole's bendy-screen FlexPai phone unveiled in China
A little-known California-based company has laid claim to creating the "world's first foldable phone".
Royole Corporation - a specialist in manufacturing flexible displays - unveiled the FlexPai handset at an event in Beijing. When opened, the device presents a single display measuring 7.8in (19.8cm) - bigger than many tablets. But when folded up, it presents three separate smaller screens - on the front, rear and spine of the device.
The six-year-old company said it would hold three "flash sales" to consumers in China on 1 November to offer the first product run.
[...] The launch has caught many industry watchers by surprise. It was widely believed Samsung or Huawei would be the first to sell such a device to the public.
[...] Another company-watcher added that he doubted the FlexPai would ever be produced in large numbers. "Royole has carried out several publicity stunts over the years to showcase its flexible OLED [organic light-emitting diode] displays," said Dr Guillaume Chansin from Irimitech Consulting. "The FlexPai is probably another stunt. Royole is building its first OLED factory and it is now trying to compete directly with other display manufacturers such as Samsung and LG."
Samsung has been talking about this kind of thing for years. But talk is cheap.
See also: The World's First Foldable Screen Phone Is Not Fully Baked
Related: Flexible and Printable Battery that Will Revolutionize Wearables
Underwriters Laboratories Certifies "Unbreakable" and Flexible Samsung OLED Display
Nubia's Wearable Smartphone is a Preview of our Flexible OLED Future
(Score: 2, Troll) by realDonaldTrump on Thursday July 26 2018, @08:40PM (3 children)
Our UL checks for fire safety. Tests things are very fire safe. And Samsung, frankly, they've had some problems with that. Very smart to partner with our UL. And possibly they'll even make a phone that can pass the UL test. So you can hold it to your head, you can put it in your pocket, you can do many things. With ZERO fires!!!
(Score: 3, Touché) by DannyB on Thursday July 26 2018, @08:56PM (2 children)
Some people spend too much time playing with their Tweeter.
A phone that didn't have a Tweeter would be a good thing.
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by stretch611 on Friday July 27 2018, @02:34AM (1 child)
Replying to your alter-ego?!?
Now with 5 covid vaccine shots/boosters altering my DNA :P
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Monday July 30 2018, @06:34PM
Actually, no.
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
(Score: 2) by Thexalon on Thursday July 26 2018, @09:29PM (18 children)
Is it actually unbreakable, or was it just certified as such? I mean, I think if I put my mind to it I could break it well enough.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 26 2018, @09:43PM (3 children)
Unbreakable: passes military spec test. An "unshatterable", high temperature resistant material like Polycarbonate is still at the mercy of a hydraulic ram or oxy acetylene torch.
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Friday July 27 2018, @02:30AM (2 children)
Consider that modern submarines withstand profoundly high pressures, they only have small hatches for the crew and for torpedoes yet from time to time they need to swap out the entire reactor core.
What limits the life of submarines is how many times their hulls have been cut open then welded shut again.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 27 2018, @01:49PM (1 child)
MDC, you are a fountain of knowledge. Now excuse me while I lick on this funny colored blotter.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 27 2018, @02:03PM
Did you bring enough for the rest of the class?
(Score: 4, Interesting) by archfeld on Thursday July 26 2018, @09:54PM (10 children)
Do you remember 'Unbreakable' combs from the 70's ? It turns out that all you had to do was put them in the freezer for a while and then they shattered like glass. Nothing is unbreakable. It is just much more robust than the cheapest possible option Samsung has been using until this point. I want flexible, foldable screens, and my flying car DAMNIT !!! Hanna/Barbera promised me a flying car when I was 5 years old and I want it before I die...
For the NSA : Explosives, guns, assassination, conspiracy, primers, detonators, initiators, main charge, nuclear charge
(Score: 3, Interesting) by takyon on Thursday July 26 2018, @10:41PM (9 children)
The flexibility of this Samsung screen is what gives it a credible description of "unbreakable". For normal usage of dropping your smartphone a few feet onto the pavement, or even drunkenly slinging it at a brick wall, the flexibility of the screen should prevent shattering. Which is why it seems to have done well in these tests (although, why don't they just keep increasing the height until it *does* break). The rest of the phone might become the weakest link, especially if you are hitting it with a hammer.
That said, I doubt these initial attempts will result in the ultra-flat bendy e-paper of your dreams. And if we get that form factor, it will have a flexible, thin, and very low capacity battery.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 3, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 26 2018, @10:57PM
...and an Intel i9 processor.
(Score: 2) by archfeld on Thursday July 26 2018, @10:59PM
I can dream !! It seems that is the only place the advertised B$ actually exists. The lack of truth in advertising here in the US has reached epic proportions. It seems to be legal to show or say ANYTHING as long as there is a nano print disclaimer, or a reference to 50 pages of exemptions on a web site somewhere on to net.
For the NSA : Explosives, guns, assassination, conspiracy, primers, detonators, initiators, main charge, nuclear charge
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Friday July 27 2018, @12:02AM (6 children)
"Unbreakable" plastic is no surprise.
"Unbreakable" and as scratch resistant as Gorilla Glass - that would be impressive.
One weak link in big screen TVs these days is that the screens are way too easy to scratch.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Friday July 27 2018, @12:10AM (3 children)
Size and planned obsolescence are orthogonal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Friday July 27 2018, @12:21AM (2 children)
We bought a 42" screen 11 years ago, and were essentially gifted a 55" screen 2 years ago. I like 'em dumb, they're both driven by NUCs, and the old one has had a couple of generations by now.
10 years hence, if I'm in the market for a new one, I'll be looking long and hard at longevity parameters, doubtful anything to do with specs, today's specs are just fine for me. My eyes haven't been good enough to appreciate 8k resolution from across the living room for a long, long time.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 27 2018, @01:52PM (1 child)
Care to elaborate which models you're using? I too am looking for a dumb screen driven by a small computer running XBMC/Plex.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 27 2018, @06:39PM
I have a Samsung just a few years old that's a "dumb TV". They still make them, you just have to look. Often the really large models on display will be "smart", and you can find smaller models boxed on the shelves without that stuff. I haven't looked around on the 'net though, might be someplace you can order larger dumb TV's.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Friday July 27 2018, @12:29AM (1 child)
Yeah, I've wary about the scratch resistance, and a drop test isn't sufficient for that. Maybe a "pocket full of coins and keys" test or just start scratching the screen with various objects.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 27 2018, @04:48PM
There is no escaping the cell phone case. USE ONE, or your phone will be trashed.
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 26 2018, @10:45PM
UL will independently test your product against a particular standard. There are over a thousand standards to choose from [ul.com] that you can have your product tested against. The article doesn't say which one, beyond that it is "based on military standards" and describing a couple specific drop and temperature durability tests.
(Score: 2) by arslan on Thursday July 26 2018, @10:58PM (1 child)
Come now. "Unbreakable" from the marketing department is different from the one used in the dictionary.
(Score: 3, Touché) by archfeld on Thursday July 26 2018, @11:01PM
Agreed. Just like the use of the term Unlimited in reference to mobile minutes or internet data download.
For the NSA : Explosives, guns, assassination, conspiracy, primers, detonators, initiators, main charge, nuclear charge
(Score: 4, Informative) by requerdanos on Thursday July 26 2018, @11:07PM
That ([Frame Grab .png] [freworld.info]) is not a hammer, it's a soft rubber mallet [grainger.com].
In case you automatically lump all "striking" tools into the same category, the link above explains the difference: Unlike hammers, rubber mallets let the user "apply plenty of force, but with a softer blow to help prevent damage to the work surface."
The video is low-production-value dramatic, but no one in the video uses a hammer on anything, regardless of what the subtitles/captions claim.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 26 2018, @11:18PM (3 children)
Transparent aluminum.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Friday July 27 2018, @12:17AM (2 children)
I'd prefer transparent carbon.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 27 2018, @02:04PM
The year is 2069. The diagnosis is graphene lung.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 27 2018, @04:49PM
Cellophane?
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Friday July 27 2018, @02:27AM
Purchase a bunch of replacement batteries and screens for the most-common models of mobile phones then hang out at a day center while you replace broken screens and dead batteries for free.
"What kind of phone do you have? iPhone or Android?"
"I have The Poor Man's Phone: Android."
And yes I really did overhear this at Portland's Day Center.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Friday July 27 2018, @02:32AM
Samsung S7 Edge In Blender [youtu.be]
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]