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BOE Reportedly Using Corning’s UTG on Foldable Display Cover Lens
 
Chinese phone brands are expected to supply ultra-thin glasses (UTG) as cover windows for their upcoming foldable smartphones, replacing colorless polyimide films (CFC).  Samsung made the change last year. Huawei Mate X2 and Xiaomi Mi Mix Fold that launched earlier this year used polyamide films.

• Xiaomi will use UTG for its upcoming Mi Mix Fold 2 that will launch within the year. Samsung Display has supplied the 8.01-inch screen d with UTG. The outer 6.52-inch screen is provided by CSoT. For the Mi Mix Fold, CSoT had supplied both the inner and outer screens.
• Vivo is launching a foldable phone in Q421 that will sport an 8-inch screen inside and a 6.5-inch screen outside. This product will also have UTG as the cover window. Samsung Display is providing the inside scree and BOE the outer screen.
• Honor is also preparing a foldable phone called Honor Magic Fold with UTG applied. The 8.03-inch inner screen and 6.45-inch outer screen will be supplied by BOE. If the phone launches as planned, it will be the first time BOE used UTG on its foldable panel. BOE was testing mother glasses for UTG, a person familiar with the matter said.
• Google is preparing a 7.6-inch in-folding foldable smartphone. It will also use a foldable panel from Samsung with UTG.
• Oppo is also preparing a foldable phone with a 7.1-inch inner screen and a 5.45-inch external screen. Samsung Display will supply the internal screen with UTG; the outer screen is provided by BOE. The internal screen will also have low-temperature polycrystalline oxide (LTPO) thin-film transistor (TFT) technology applied. The phone is likely to launch in 2022.

 
The expanded use of UTG in foldable phones will also provide a chance for Corning to expand its share against Schott. Samsung currently exclusive procures UTG from Schott and has added Corning as a supplier for the Fold 3.

​Last month, market research firm Display Supply Chain Consultants had said Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Z Flip 3 will use UTG mother glasses from Schott and Corning according to DSCC.

However, TheElec reported that Corning’s yields for the UTG cover glass were still low for mass production.  Corning’s bendable glass is reported to be around 50 um thick, compared to Schott’s 30 um. Dowoo Insys performs the cutting, edge processing, chemical strengthening, and cover film lamination for the Schott UTG. Samsung is using eCONY to carry out the etching, strengthening, and cutting of the Corning’s UTG. Both Corning’s and Schott’s glass are not exclusive to Samsung, but the processing is. Currently a foldable panel costs two to three times more (between US$150 to US$250) than a conventional flexible OLED panels (around US$80).

Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip3 passed through China’s TENNA which revealed details about the battery capacity and dimensions of the upcoming foldable phone. Now, the American variant of the Z Flip3 has appeared in Geekbench. The benchmark run reveals that the SM-F7110U is running the Snapdragon 888 chipset and at least 8GB of RAM. The Geekbench 5 score came in at 1,015 for the single-score and 3,161 for multi-core. Unsurprisingly, the Z Flip3 tested is running Android 11 with Samsung’s One Ui layered on top.

​Samsung’s will announce the Z Flip3, along with the Z Fold3 and Galaxy Buds2 during an August 11 launch event.