Google to invest $875 million for curved Pixel screens?
According to reports by the South Korean press, Google is engaged in talks to invest $875 million in LG Display, a world leader in producing screens for smartphones and tablets. Reportedly Google wants to give its Pixel smartphones curved OLED screens in the near future. Neither Google nor LG responded to TechCrunch's request for comments.
Samsung controls the OLED market
As of now, Samsung has a monopoly on the OLED screens market with around 95% of the total OLED screen supply worldwide being produced by the South Korean giant.
Curved screens and new smartphones
Smartphone manufacturer Samsung's new Galaxy S8 comes with a curved screen. Reportedly, Apple has also penned a deal with Samsung for the production of 160 million curved OLED screens for its upcoming iPhone 8. Considering the above developments, Google's decision to explore curved displays for its flagship phone hardly comes as a surprise.
The first curved screen smartphone
Curved OLED screens first surfaced in 2013 when Samsung put it into its 5.7 inch long Galaxy Round phone.
LG is Google's best bet for curved displays
Shifting to LG for the production of curved displays would reduce Google's reliance on suppliers like Samsung Display, a sister company of rival smartphone maker Samsung. While the deal with LG isn't done yet, Google doesn't have many options if it wants curved displays. With Samsung Display already supplying Apple, and Japan Display Inc. lagging behind on the tech, LG is Google's best bet.
