On May 9, we first saw what LG Display sees as the future of the screen."Micro LED technology that can be freely stretched, folded and twisted."This was part of Soul Fashion Week and we saw these stretchy displays incorporated into our clothing, but the underlying technical details were light.

Now LG Display is ready to reveal more. This week, the company demoed a new 18—inch prototype that can stretch up to 12 inches, twisted and folded to give it more texture.

The GIF below neatly shows how comprehensively the shape of the screen can be changed, opening the door to all sorts of new features - this is the first of its kind. As a tactile control panel in the car.

The display is lightweight and has the ability to adhere to curved surfaces such as clothing and skin. As such, LG Display expects its uptake in the mobility, fashion and wearable industries over time.

In addition to the above demonstration, the company showcased another concept in which the panel can be attached to a firefighter's uniform and display real-time information.This suggests some confidence in how the panels cope with extreme heat.

It's worth reflecting on how far technology has come in the last few years. The company's first stretchy display was revealed on the day almost 2 years ago, but it was rather limited. At the time, a 12-inch display could only grow from 20% to 14 inches. According to the company, the new profit "improved the characteristics of the special silicon material substrate used in contact lenses and developed a new wiring design structure"

But there are still some limitations, and as things stand, this technology is comparable to the kind of image quality you can get with an average smartphone LG Display The company claims that the panel provides a high resolution of 18ppi even if it stretches up to 100 inches, but that's pretty low by modern standards. For comparison, the iPhone16 has a pixel density of 460ppi, and even a flexible phone screen like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 boasts 374ppi. In addition, when modern smartphones offer a wider color gamut, the full RGB colors offered may seem fairly basic.

That said, these complaints are thin compared to the number of use cases where such flexibility can be unleashed, and we can't wait to see what innovations will come from a screen that is no longer limited by rigor. It may not be as mainstream as a regular panel, but the possibilities are interesting.