The next Galaxy S flagship smartphone is expected to introduce a variety of new features when it launches in late February, including an exciting new design.
Samsung already introduced a range of Infinity Displays at its developer conference event a few weeks ago, with Infinity-O screens expected to be featured on various Galaxy S10 models, as well as other Samsung handsets. And now a new report from Korea says the Infinity-O displays are already in mass-production.
Samsung has never embraced the notch design that Apple introduced last year, even though all other Android smartphone vendors have copied the iPhone X this year. Instead, Samsung found a different way to further increase the display real estate on its phones. The Galaxy S10 is expected to feature even thinner top and bottom bezels, curved edges, and a hole near the top of the screen where the selfie camera will be placed.
Reports from Korea have mentioned Samsung’s Hole In Active Area (HIAA) screen design, or Infinity-O, in recent weeks. ETNews on Sunday said that Samsung is already producing HIAA displays in preparation of the Galaxy S10 launch. Samsung Display apparently finished adapting its production lines for the new Infinity-O display designs, the report notes, adding the laser equipment necessary to drill holes into OLED displays.
The technology should be a Samsung-exclusive for the time being, a Samsung insider said a few days ago. ETNews also seems to indicate the same thing, hinting that Chinese smartphone display makers will need some time to catch up to Samsung Display, which could give Samsung an edge over the competition.
However, earlier reports showed that Huawei is also teasing Infinity-O-like smartphone design displays of its own, which could hit the market before the Galaxy S10 launches. We already speculated that Chinese display maker BOE may manufacture those screens, and it looks like that may be indeed the case. Samsung’s Galaxy A8s, also rumored to have an Infinity-O design, should be unveiled in December. A leaker from China claims that BOE will manufacture the Galaxy A8s’s LCD screen though, not Samsung Display.
Yes Galaxy A8s will use a BOE LCD https://t.co/ynSYdh8bR5
— Max Jambor (@MaxJmb) November 25, 2018
Drilling holes through LCD displays may be even more complicated than OLED, given that LCD has a backlight unit that also has to be pierced. If BOE is making Infinity-O LCD screens for Samsung, then it’s likely going to provide similar displays to Huawei and other companies. Huawei and BOE are already rumored to be working closely on Huawei’s first foldable smartphone, which will feature a flexible OLED screen.
