While the LG Rollable phone is officially dead, with final units being sold only to employees following the closure of its phone business, the company is still experimenting with flexible displays in the most novel of ways.
Cue Dezeen and LG Display’s OLEDs Go! competition, where entrants are tasked with designing an OLED screen that showcases the technology's key qualities, such as flexibility, thinness and versatility. One such finalist, South Korea-based designer Doyeon Shin, has produced a breathtaking OLED TV design that looks like a flag.
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Rollable tech as the future
This flag doesn’t flutter in the wind. Instead, the screen unfurls from its decorative base to reveal itself in all its OLED glory. Called Flag.R, Shin's design is a sight to behold, looking fend off four other trailblazing rivals for a share of a prize pot worth €46,000. €15,000 will go to the lucky winner.
Design-wise, the flag uncoils from its “faceted cylinder,” sitting on top of a pole, which is affixed to a wooden base. The wood-paneled base can be customized in a variety of different colors to suit your fancy.
Rollable tech looks to be a key player in the future of TV technology with its space-saving features, including the mobile sector, too, where rollable phones could usurp foldable technology.
Capture the flag
Operating the screen looks to be a breeze, too: there are no grueling flag-hoisting motions needed here. The screen automatically extends to become a TV, then fully retracting again to function as a speaker.
Shin has managed to visually distinguish the TV and speaker to keep things simple while ensuring it stays compact. Other nifty design tricks from Flag.R include the ability to uncoil just one-fifth of the screen to display track listings, lyrics and other song-related info.
Shin calls Flag.R "a rollable screen unit and audio speaker all in one," which gets top marks from us for its sheer ergonomic prowess. After initially whittling down the competition from 20 shortlisted designs, the final winner will be announced in June. Our money's on Doyeon Shin's flags.
More: Micro-LED vs OLED: Which TV tech will win?
