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A recently published patent application by LG Display has us hoping for a revival of the company's ill-fated rollable phone project, last seen in prototype form in 2022.
The patent in question concerns a rollable display, ostensibly using the same technology as the canceled LG Rollable phone The Verge reported on in 2022, a year after LG stopped producing smartphones. The OLED display used in this concept phone started at a rather huge 6.8 inches before unfurling to a 7.4-inch mini-tablet.
LG Display is a subsidiary of LG Group that designs and manufactures displays and licenses them to other companies, including majority shareholder LG Electronics, which is legally a separate entity.
Since this rollable phone actually made it to the prototype stage – see the hands-on review by BullsLab – we can reasonably assume that this display could be manufactured again, but to what scale remains a bit of a mystery.
As MSPowerUser reports, the 21-page application includes schematics that detail how the rolling display technology can be used for smartphone-sized devices, as well as larger frames. Though published on October 8 this year, this latest patent was actually filed on October 10, 2023.
Could LG be returning to smartphones?
It’s not uncommon for phone makers to file speculative patents on proprietary technology simply in the interest of defending their ideas from copycats and competitors, but seeing continued research into phone design from LG is exciting given the company’s exit from the phone market in 2021.
LG made a name for itself with high-spec Android phones and, later on, futuristic and unique designs. The most memorable of these remains the LG Wing, which featured two layered displays, the topmost of which could swivel into a landscape orientation to give the phone a T-shaped profile. The company’s final phone, the LG V60, also set itself apart with a detachable second screen, providing cheaper competition to the then-nascent folding phone market.
With these later models in mind, a quirky rolling display wouldn’t feel too out of the ordinary if LG was to return to smartphones.
Mind you, there’s been no official announcement, or even suggestion, of such a return for the South Korean giant, so for now, we think it's unlikely that LG will produce any new phones itself.
However, as mentioned, this patent was filed by LG Display, which commonly licenses displays to other manufacturers, so there's a chance we could see this tech licensed and applied by another manufacturer.
Whether the outcome matches our speculation or not, it's exciting to see that this exciting product hasn't been completely forgotten yet.
For the latest updates, including any official announcements, be sure to keep up with our phones coverage – and for a blast from the past, check out our archived list of the best LG phones.