Samsung Display introduces the world’s first 17-inch slidable PC display

South Korea’s Samsung Display Co. announced the world’s first 17-inch slidable display PC prototype at the Intel Innovation Event held in San Jose on Sept. 27, declaring the era of the slidable display has just begun as the time of foldable display has gone. Samsung Display CEO Choi Joo-sun (JS Choi) appeared at the keynote session of the annual tech event with a 13-inch display PC prototype. Choi said he will show “magic,” pulling one edge of the screen and horizontally extending it to 17 inches.  

Samsung slidable display for PCs

Wide Slidable and Vertical Slidable prototypes on a Samsung prototype smartphone were showcased at the SID 2022 in May, but this is the first time the company is showcasing the slidable tech on a large device like a laptop. JS Choi said that the Intel CEO saw this prototype on a trip to South Korea and “instantly saw the potential,” and added that it’s a great example of “the future of the PC”.

Instead of bending around a hinge like foldable OLED screens on Samsung phones, the rolled display section “slides” along rails in the frame to expand into a larger 17-inch panel from a space-saving 13-inch design. There were a few audible thumping sounds when the screen reached its maximum size or was pushed to roll back into a smaller form factor, as well as a slightly visible crease reflection at the separation notch in the frame running down the panel.

“It’s very important for Samsung Display to collaborate between ecosystem developers in hardware and software together to achieve this kind of innovative form factor PCs for best user scenarios,” Choi said at the event.

The technology might work well for a tablet, but some concessions will have to be made to fit this kind of screen on a proper laptop. That being said, a tablet could likely include a magnetically-attached keyboard that doesn’t interfere with this mechanism, so it’s not completely unreasonable to imagine a product that makes use of it.

At Display Week 2022 held in May in San Jose, Samsung Display introduced its 12.4-inch slidable display with a panel that can reduce the screen horizontally to 8.1 inches. The Korean display maker also showcased a 6.7-inch screen that slides vertically in the tradeshow. The functionality and small size of the screen are advantages for document work and social media posting, Samsung Display said.

The slidable PC screen may be a harbinger of things to come, and Samsung Display’s CEO mentioned that they are working with Intel on figuring out the added value such a form factor, and the new interface possibilities it opens, could bring to the personal computing table.