LG Display revealed that its taking innovation to the next level with the introduction of its first “stretchable Micro-LED displays”.
The company took the somewhat unusual decision to unveil its stretchy Micro-LED displays at Seoul Fashion Week, as opposed to a traditional tech industry event, where the tech was showcased as a kind of apparel by a selection of long-legged models.
According to the company, the new Micro-LED displays can be “freely stretched, folded and twisted”.
It probably won’t come as a surprise to learn that the latest innovations can be folded and twisted out of shape. After all, foldable smartphones are not new, and the company has shown off twisty OLED screens at previous events, such as CES 2024 in January. However, the stretchy characteristics are something new.
At Seoul Fashion Week, the company’s hired runway models demonstrated how the prototype displays can be stretched from 12 inches to 14 inches, which might not be all that much, but is impressive nonetheless.
Of course, such innovation begs the question – Why? The answer lies in LG’s choice of venue, as it sees applications in the world of clothing and accessories. It said, for example, you might be able to make a dress out of stretchable Micro-LED that can adjust to your natural shapes and curves, or perhaps a bag that can be filled to the brim without ugly bulges.
The company provided a couple of images and a video showing those exact scenarios, but one has to wonder what kind of person would want to flaunt clothing that can also display movies.
Nonetheless, the concept has its fans, with Korean fashion designer Chung-Chung Lee enthusing about its ability to implement “designs that previously could only be imagined.”
In addition to fabric, LG Display said the stretchable Micro-LED displays can also stick to human skin, introducing the possibility of “living tattoos” slapped onto our arms, legs and heads.
The company is probably being optimistic, but it reckons the technology has the potential to “revolutionise” our lives by paving the way for a world where “IT devices can be comfortably worn like clothes or attached to the body.”
LG Display was keen to talk about how the displays actually work. It said the stretchable Micro-LED screens are “high-resolution active matrix Micro-LED displays” and that they have a maximum stretch rating of about 20%. The secret sauce that enables them to be stretched is a silicon-based material that’s normally found in contact lenses.
According to LG Display, by incorporating this material, the displays have “rubber band-like” qualities that enable them to be stretched. The company added that they’re surprisingly durable and can undergo “more than 10,000 form changes” without degrading. In other words, you’ll be able to stretch it out, bend it around, pull it, scrunch it up and unfurl it once again to your heart’s content. Almost. In any case, it should last long enough until boredom sets in and nobody is impressed anymore.
The company added that the stretchable displays have a resolution equivalent to standard RGB monitors, which is admittedly nothing like as good as the resolution on a new iPhone display, but probably good enough.
Other questions remain unanswered, such as what kind of power source is required – the assumption is that anyone wearing a ‘display dress’ will have to carry out a power pack, or perhaps the battery will somehow be integrated in the clothing. The company didn’t say anything about size limitations either, so it’s not clear how big it might be able to go. Micro-LED-based flags waving in the wind could be a distinct possibility, but we’ll have to wait and see.
Although the applications are questionable and the technology itself is clearly still in the prototype stage, LG Display could well face some competition in this area if it decides to pursue it further. Earlier this year, it was revealed that Apple has filed for a patent that details stretchable displays on devices such as a new Apple Watch, as well as MacBooks.
