Samsung Electronics has added an undisclosed protective film to the foldable mobile phone Galaxy Fold, which has aroused great concern in the industry. It is understood that the film material used to replace the cover glass on smart phones was a transparent PI film. As Samsung Display added a new protective film to the transparent PI film, the supply chain of the product and the development strategy of the foldable display of competing companies have aroused great concern in the industry.
According to DSCC news from the display industry and market research company on May 2, the protective film applied to the Galaxy Fold includes SG Hitech, SKC, and Samsung SDI.
This protective film is called HCAF (Hard Coat Anti-Fingerprint) film. Previously, the industry believed that the transparent PI film was the film at the top of the display, but in fact the HCAF film was the film at the top.
HCAF film has the function of protecting the display screen from physical impact, perfecting the role of transparent PI, and has the function of improving recognition. It can realize the smooth and capable feeling and texture peculiar to glass, which makes up for the lack of aesthetics of transparent PI.
The industry believes that the HCAF film is applied on a hard coating PET film, after being coated with anti-fingerprint (AF), and then pasted with a transparent adhesive film (OCA) for optics, and finally combined with transparent PI Shape.
According to market research company DSCC analysis, the production process of HCAF film is: after SKC Hitech & Marketing's hard coating treatment on SKC's PET film, SG Hitech's anti-fingerprint coating is applied, and Samsung SDI's OCA is affixed to the bottom. Process of PI membrane binding.
The final combination of transparent PI and HCAF is the responsibility of Chinese manufacturer BL Crystal.
Bourne Optics is mainly responsible for the processing of Cover Glass for smartphones. Apple is the largest customer of Berne Optics, supplying more than half of the Apple iPhone and Apple Watch. Bourne Optics has extensive experience in processing glass covers and is therefore also involved in the production of the Galaxy Fold.
Samsung Display newly added the HCAF film because it is not located at the lower part of the frame, and users have mistakenly thought it could be removed. Expert analysis, because the combination is very strong, removing this film requires a considerable amount of material force, which means that removing this film, the display will not function and will be damaged.
The display industry is very concerned about the effect of the HCAF film structure on the Galaxy Fold on the ripple effect of competing companies. This is because although it can make up for the defects of the transparent PI film, the addition of a new film structure to the display screen will have an impact on the overall folded structure and a corresponding change in design. Whether competing companies such as BOE that are developing foldable displays will introduce similar structures is also a concern for the industry.
Relevant persons in the industry said that “because it was a structure that the display industry had not known before, and Samsung had tried to introduce it the first time, manufacturers had to pay attention later”, and said that “if the foldable mobile phone market expands, it will also bring relevant ecosystem manufacturers Positive effect".