Apple, Google and Microsoft invest in LG's foldable display technology

The three biggies of the tech world — Apple, Google and Microsoft — have reportedly partnered with LG for the development of fold-out display technology. These foldable displays will not even enter production till 2018, so you can forget about those dreams of playing with a flexible phone any time soon. It’s likely that these companies are simply investing in the technology to maintain a toehold in innovative display technology. Korean news agency ETNews reports that LG is developing these display panels for smartphones. LG has already made a prototype, reportedly, and it’s apparently of very high quality. The report goes on to explain that it was Samsung that came out with the original flexible OLED panel, but production issues have prevented the display from seeing mass-market acceptance. LG appears to be facing the same issues. Apple is widely rumoured to be preparing an iPhone 8 with a flexible display in 2017. If true, the supplier is likely to be Samsung. A representative of the display industry in South Korea told ETNews that the Korean industry was focussed on the performance and quality of their panels. He added that China was expected to be the first to cheaply mass-produce the display, however.