Samsung Electronics and Corning of the United States jointly developed the "UTG/Ultra Thin Glass". Based on Corning's glass, we are advancing the development of foldable or curved smartphone covers.
Samsung Electronics has provided a foldable panel cover that is produced by subsidiary Samsung Display based on SCHOTT glass. As Samsung Electronics, a global foldable mobile phone, accelerates the internalization of core materials, it is expected that the supply chain will be reorganized.
On the 31st, according to the display industry, Samsung Electronics’ Wireless Division recently obtained the materials needed to develop folding glass from Corning. The two companies have established a cooperative relationship to realize the core material of ultra-thin glass UTG for folding mobile phone covers.
A person familiar with the industry said: "In view of the exclusive supply contract signed by Samsung Display and SCHOTT, (Samsung Electronics) has worked hand in hand with Corning," and is focusing on ensuring the processing technology required to produce UTG.
By providing foldable glass for Samsung Electronics, Corning has established a foothold as a new player in the UTG market. Corning has been developing UTG. Although SCHOTT entered the market later than SCHOTT, if it wins the large-scale number of Samsung's outstanding customer company, it can quickly increase its market share.
In this regard, a relevant person from Corning said: "We are currently providing (UTG) samples to customer companies. However, we cannot confirm the details."
As Samsung Electronics and Corning join forces, it is expected that price and technology competition between Samsung Display and SCHOTT will be inevitable. In particular, the industry sees Samsung Electronics’ own development of foldable glass as a paving stone to increase the price competitiveness of foldable mobile phones.
At present, Samsung Display will combine UTG and organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panels supplied by Dowooinsys, a special glass processing company and Schott of Germany, and supply them to Samsung Electronics. However, it is well known that it is difficult to reduce the overall panel price due to the difficulty in increasing the output of the glass ledger cutting process in the Samsung Display production system.
In the future, Samsung Electronics is expected to promote self-developed products to form a competitive landscape, thereby reducing the supply price of Samsung displays. For this reason, as we all know, processing companies at home and abroad are currently committed to ensuring high-yield processes.
A relevant person in charge of Samsung Electronics also independently developed the content of folding glass and said: "Unable to confirm."
In addition, Samsung Display may focus on promoting a diversified sales network in order to avoid this danger. In fact, Huawei recently ordered OLED panels for foldable phones from Samsung Display in China. Taking into account the recent rapid growth of the foldable mobile phone market and the high barriers to technology entry, Samsung Display is expected to temporarily lead the foldable display panel market.
The pros and cons of CPI and UTG
CPI has good bending properties, but its optical properties and scratch resistance are slightly insufficient, so a hard coat must be sputtered on CPI.
Although UTG has good hardness, its impact resistance is still insufficient. Under strong impact, it is easy to break. Therefore, it is still not feasible to use it as the first surface of the foldable cover, and a protective film must be pasted on it.
Omdia believes that CPI and UTG have their own advantages and disadvantages. Both materials are difficult to stand alone, and become the best choice for foldable covers. At present, the cooperation of the two materials is a feasible solution. However, this composite material (pictured below) complicates the structure of the foldable cover. It becomes a sandwich structure, which is not conducive to repeated bending. In the long run, improvements and enhancements are still needed from the material side, and it is necessary to develop new materials to replace CPI or UTG. The development of foldable display products must be based on simplified structure. A complex stacking structure (sandwich) will not be the ultimate solution for foldable covers. Companies in the industry also need time to develop the perfect foldable cover material.