One of the biggest stories this year in the universe of consumer electronics was the release of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus — the oversized, phablet-caliber smartphone that many critics have been prodding Apple to build for years now.
However, even before the memories of the Jimmy Fallon/Justin Timberlake a cappella duet began to fade, rumors of a fatal flaw in the much-anticipated Plus model began to surface and soon took on a life of their own.
Dubbed “bendgate,” the issue revolved around an apparent lack of structural integrity in the oversized cases — leading to bending and breakage when carried in back pockets.
The story got almost as much press as the release of the devices itself, leading to the usual treatment by the Internet — with slews of memes, jokes, satirical articles, and endless photos depicting grotesquely warped iPhones in the hands of their confused, saddened, or horrified owners.
This issue has most mainstream consumers asking the obvious question: How big is big enough, and how big is too big when it comes to smartphone screens?
Before, that was a question best addressed by analyzing usage requirements and ergonomics. But since bendgate, it appears there is a physical limitation to how these devices can be engineered.
I mean, if Apple can’t get it right… who can?
Contrary to popular belief, this was a question that already had a definitive answer — more than six months before Tim Cook, Justin Timberlake, and Jimmy Fallon introduced the world to the iPhone 6.
A Solution Before the Problem
The technology is called “YOUM,” and it was first shown to the world by maker Samsung (OTC: SSNLF) at a private event during the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show.
The technology was announced more than a year earlier, but this time around, people were actually able to see something that appeared impossible — even to eyes jaded by the wonders of modern technology.
Calling the YOUM display flexible is a bit like calling the President’s personal 747 airworthy. The super thin yet bright, colorful, and highly contrasting display could be bent into a U (180 degrees) without any signs of damage or fatigue.
Of course, the excitement — at least back in January — was tempered by the fact that this technology was still in its development stage and would probably not be seen in consumer products anytime soon… if ever.
Well, now it seems things have changed.
2015 will almost definitely be the year for flexible handsets to hit the market.
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2015 Has a Nice Ring to it
Yoon Han-kil, Senior Vice President of Samsung’s product strategy team, indicated that foldable displays should be expected in 2015 — probably in the second half of the year, as that is the company’s preferred timing for launching its new Galaxy Note Phablets.
“Our ultimate goal is to make products that consumers really aspire to have. This is how we are trying to find a breakthrough in the stagnant premium market.”
Curvature isn’t a new thing to Samsung, a company that tried to gain an edge on the still-fresh 4D generation of high-def TV screens by introducing a curved-screen line earlier this year.
However, while the practicality of a curved television screen has been proven to be anecdotal at best, a bendable screen for portable consumer devices isn’t just practical — it’s a natural evolution of a product that has already transcended miniaturization and has moved onto becoming a universal personal companion for everything related to communication and data sharing.
For the world’s biggest, most valuable brand, however, this innovation has been nothing but an underscoring of just how far behind the vanguard they’ve fallen.
Bendable screen technology is something that will inevitably sweep through the entire spectrum of portable personal electronic devices and eventually become as common as the smartphone or bluetooth capability in the cell phones of the future.
To your wealth,
Brian Hicks
Brian is a founding member and President of Angel Publishing and investment director for the income and dividend newsletter The Wealth Advisory. He writes about general investment strategies for Tech Investing Daily, Wealth Daily and Energy & Capital. Known as the “original bull on America,” Brian is also the author of the 2008 book, Profit from the Peak: The End of Oil and the Greatest Investment Event of the Century. In addition to writing about the economy, investments and politics, Brian is also a frequent guest on CNBC, Bloomberg, Fox and countless radio shows. For more on Brian, take a look at his editor’s page.
