A hot potato: Samsung's new Infinity Flex Display represents the next milestone in the evolution of mobile display technology. It's impressive from an engineering standpoint, sure, and I'm probably in the minority here but I'm still not convinced that flexible screens have any business on a smartphone. It feels forced, is impractical and based on what's been shown thus far, sets smartphone design back by at least a full decade.

Samsung during the opening keynote of its 2018 developer conference on Wednesday announced its Infinity Flex Display and briefly showcased the technology on stage.

Justin Denison, SVP of mobile product marketing, shared a brief teaser video of the Infinity Flex Display before pulling a prototype handset out of his pocket. Conveniently, the lights dimmed so you really couldn't get a good look at the device. He did unfold the device, however, and as expected, it transformed into a 7.3-inch tablet.

Denison said they "disguised the elements of the design" but added "there's a device inside here and it's stunning." That's good to hear because I wasn't impressed with the chunky handset I saw on stage or the small size of the outer, cover display.

Denison talked briefly about the technology behind the Infinity Flex Display and how it had to be able to withstand being folded and unfolded repeatedly without degradation. Glen Murphy, head of Android UX at Google, said Android will officially support the foldable form factor on the software side.


Mass production is expected "in the coming months" and Denison even shared a roadmap with rollable and stretchable displays planned for the future.