MWC 2024 saw Samsung reveal its bendiest OLED concept yet with the Samsung Cling Band. This screen can, with little effort, be bent into a domed shape — could this be the future of phone screens?
Samsung wasn't the only developer to show off the concept; Motorola also revealed their new bendable concept that could attach to a magnetic strap to become a wearable. While Motorola's nameless design was much more polished, there are some interesting things about Samsung’s design that are worth exploring, as well as some other novelty OLED uses they showed off.
While we did not have a chance to see the device ourselves, CNET’s Katie Collins reports that the OLED screen remains remarkably smooth when curved over, although there are still some signs of bending. Supposedly the screens at MWC were limited to basic scrolling, which often resulted in random zooming in and out, but looked best while scrolling through photo galleries.
It seems that Samsung had a wealth of interesting ideas to show off during MWC. For instance, the “Flex Magic Pixel” adjusts the viewing angle of the screen for privacy so that it is more difficult for people to see your screen while in use.
This technology uses a combination of Samsung’s OLED technology and its AI capabilities to make it nearly impossible to read the screen unless looking directly at it.
Samsung appears to be experimenting with what OLED technology can do and how it can be better integrated into our lives as they also showed off small devices with OLED panels that convey tidbits of information at a glance.
For instance, having car keys that show if the doors are locked or unlocked. While this does appear slightly extravagant, it's less excessive than a DOOM-playing lawnmower — an actual working product on the MWC shop floor this year.
The OLED applications show off the potential future for phones and other tech, but there is still a fair amount of work to do to perfect them. However, while the idea of having a phone wristband seems slightly over the top compared to something like the Samsung Galaxy Ring, it does show that there are new areas for developers to explore when it comes to screen technology.
The foldable screens are only a small amount of the wonders that were available at MWC, and we have a full roundup of the first and second days, as well as the top ten gadgets that we found during our time at MWC 2024.
