Rollable OLED Display Samsung Display Plans Series Production for the First Half of 2028

Foldable displays (Foldables) are already suitable for the mass market. According to rumors, Samsung Display plans to launch so-called Rollables by the first half of 2028. The technical requirements for this new generation of displays are high.

The market for flexible displays is on the verge of a significant shift. While foldable smartphones (Foldables) with their now eighth generation have solidified their status as an established standard in the premium segment, and Tri-Fold concepts in devices from Huawei represent the current technological peak, rumors about Rollables are becoming more widespread. According to reports from The Elec and market data from Omdia, Samsung Display plans to mass-produce a 10-inch rollable OLED in the first half of 2028. With a targeted pixel density of 440 ppi and an aspect ratio of 16:9, the panel is entering performance ranges previously reserved for traditional rigid high-end displays.

The Special Features of the Rollable Display

In contrast to the established Foldables, which operate with static bend radii, the rollable principle must dynamically manage mechanical stresses across the entire surface of the panel. A key aspect of hardware development is controlling the so-called neutral phase. In a multilayered display composite, significant tensile stresses occur on the outer side during bending or rolling, while the inner side is compressed (compressive stress).

The neutral phase refers to the theoretical layer within the center of the material stack that remains completely stress-free during deformation. In a rollable display, the most sensitive components, particularly the extremely brittle inorganic layers of the TFT backplane and thin-film encapsulation, must be precisely positioned within this neutral zone through exact alignment of layer thicknesses and elasticity moduli. This is the only way to prevent microscopic cracks from destroying the optoelectronic functionality after just a few cycles.

Thin-Film Encapsulation and Display Control

To achieve this stability, Samsung Display relies on a complex hybrid stack made of advanced Ultra Thin Glass (UTG) and novel molecularly reinforced polyimide substrates. In parallel, the thin-film encapsulation (TFE) had to be fundamentally redesigned. The newly implemented multilayer structures must ensure water vapor transmission rates (WVTR) that remain stable even under constant mechanical torsion.

In addition, driving a display whose active area continuously changes during operation requires a new generation of display driver ICs (DDICs). These must synchronize the pixel feeding latency-free with the motorized extension kinematics to prevent image artifacts during the transformation. Micro-actuators need to adjust the rotation speed of the spool in real time to the varying roll radius to ensure a constant tensile load on the display stack and minimize mechanical stress.