Samsung’s foldable display boasts US military-grade durability

Samsung Display on Monday said its foldable panel for smartphones has passed the US military’s material durability test, proving its strength in withstanding the harsh conditions of operational and combat zones.

According to the display maker, its 7-inch foldable panel used in the latest foldable smartphones passed the MIL-STD 810G test, which is the US Department of Defense's military standard.

First developed as a certification for equipment and materials for military applications, the standard has been developed and adopted for commercial standards.

"This military spec certification confirms Samsung Display's technological advantage in the foldable display market, which has become the next-generation form factor," said Cho Yong-seok, who leads the marketing division for small and medium businesses at Samsung Display.

"We look forward to seeing foldable panels utilized in a wider variety of devices and environments, (breaking) the prejudice that foldables are not durable."

To verify the durability of its 7-inch foldable panels, Samsung Display commissioned UL Solutions, a safety certification agency, to conduct tests on four criteria of MIL-STD 810G, including temperature, shock, and other factors that can be encountered in everyday and outdoor activities.

The foldable panels were put in an environment where the temperature was lowered to minus 10 degrees Celsius, and water was sprayed onto the surface of the panel to create a layer of ice 6 millimeters thick. The panel was left in a frozen state for four hours and still operated normally, the company said.

The panel also withstood temperatures of minus 32 C and 63 C and endured radical temperature fluctuations over a 12-hour period.

The foldable panels also survived a harsh shock test. The panels were dropped from a height of 1.22 meters -- the height at which people usually hold their smartphones -- 26 times, all in different directions.

The test organizers also spun the foldable panels at speeds up to 10.5 times the force of gravity -- similar to how astronauts undergo microgravity training in a centrifuge. The findings showed that the panels can endure use during extreme activities.

The most extreme acceleration grade for testing airplane and helicopter components is at a G-force of 10.5, Samsung Display said.

The display maker has been ramping up its foldable panel technologies, which are produced based on its intellectual properties accumulated over 10 years since 2012. According to Samsung, it holds more than 1,800 patents -- those disclosed and registered -- related to foldable technologies in the US. This is over four times more patents than its global rivals, the company added.