Foldable phones are going to be THE thing of the future. Samsung had already announced that a foldable phone is in the making. The Ultra Shingles which are a prerequisite for the production of a foldable phone is supplied by DoInsys, and this is the same company that is supplying the UTG to Samsung. In recent news, DoInsys is apparently considering the additional mass production investment in UTG.
DoInsys signed an exclusive supply contract with Samsung Display bringing in KRW12 billion in investments. Now that DoInsys is looking to almost double, if not more, the mass production of the UTG, the production of foldable phones would not be far away off.
DoInsys’s current production capacity is estimated at 50,000 units per month but as is the case with any production business the actual output and the capacity may vary. DoInsys has already begun the production of UTG to secure its place as a supplier to Samsung.
DoInsys has an ultra-thin tempered glass technology with a thickness of fewer than 100 micrometers (µm). It is thought to be possible to implement at least 30㎛ levels.
The main reason behind DoInsys’s new pledge to increase production is to meet the demand in supply that will inevitably come once the actual smartphone goes into production. Samsung is also discussing ways to attract additional investment as it requires facility investment. The amount of additional investment is unknown.
However, Samsung’s contract with DoInsys is exclusive; for some time, the company might not be able to supply UTG to other companies. But eventually, with time, the foldable market would expand exponentially, and DoInsys could help in this case.
The foldable market would not just remain constrained to the smartphone arena. The same technology can be applied to various other applications such as laptops, pads, etc. Reportedly, many Chinese companies are interested in foldable displays and are working on UTG supply and demand.