Ask HN: Do we need foldable screens or it it just another fad? - Lazarus666
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ksaj
Just like prior buzz technologies, these things often start with no clear
purpose outside of their inherent cool factor. Once the novelty of version
one-point-uh-oh wears off, useful ideas emerge in the form of wish lists.

For example, VR/AR goggles and smart watches were ridiculed but now are
starting to show real promise. A lot of the advancement is directly related to
user response and 3rd party development after experiencing the clumsy
beginnings.

As for bendy foldy screens, I've been thinking about the way my desk is lined
with monitors with varying devel tools here, there and everywhere around me.
How about one long seamless U-ish shaped surround screen instead? I'd never
have to worry about trying to match colour temperatures etc again. I'll buy
it!

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cimmanom
Define “need”?

For me, if it’s a way to get back to phones that are small enough to use with
one hand and fit into the stupidly tiny pockets of women’s jeans, they can’t
come soon enough. But if they’re a way to open a phablet into a mid-size
tablet they seem pretty pointless.

Larger foldable screens might be kind of neat, too. Imagine a 17” or even 19”
laptop that folds into the footprint of a 10” tablet. Suddenly computers with
tons of working screen space become far more portable.

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etaioinshrdlu
I suspect they will never feel very nice because they can't be glass.

Any ideas on how to solve that?

~~~
Someone
There’s no reason it can’t be glass. Glass can be made highly flexible:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bend_radius#Fiber_optics](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bend_radius#Fiber_optics)
says a bend radius of 15 times the diameter of the glass typically is a safe
assumption.

That factor 15 doesn’t directly apply to plates of glass, and still might give
too high a radius, but this is a hotly researched field.

For nice demos, look at
[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=12OSBJwogFc](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=12OSBJwogFc)

(And of course, there’s
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flexible_glass](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flexible_glass),
invented about 2,000 years ago.

~~~
etaioinshrdlu
I find that kind of hard to believe based on experience. I suspect a .3mm
sheet of glass could make a bend radius of maybe 500mm, not 4.5mm.

The numbers just feel way off.

I suspect glass that can safely fold with a 5mm bend radius would be extremely
thin and fragile.

