Seoul, July 22 (IANS) Samsung Display said on Tuesday its latest foldable organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panel has successfully passed a 500,000-fold durability test, demonstrating the company’s advances in flexible display technology.

The panel, used in Samsung Electronics Co.’s newly launched Galaxy Z Fold 7 smartphone, remained fully functional after undergoing 500,000 folds over a 13-day period in a temperature of 25 C, according to testing results verified by global certification agency Bureau Veritas, reports Yonhap news agency.

The result is more than double Samsung Display’s previous internal durability standard of 200,000 fold and reflects the company’s confidence in the long-term resilience of its foldable OLED technology, the company said.

Samsung Display explained the 500,000-fold benchmark equates to over 10 years of use for average consumers and more than six years for heavy users folding over 200 times daily.

The company attributed the enhanced durability to a newly developed shock-resistant structure inspired by bulletproof glass.

Samsung increased the thickness of its Ultra Thin Glass (UTG) cover by 50 percent and adopted a new high-elastic adhesive, improving impact recovery performance fourfold compared with previous materials.

“This new panel not only builds consumer confidence in foldable OLED durability but also underscores the technological advantage that makes Samsung Display distinguished in the industry,” said Lee Ho-jung, head of the mobile display product planning team at Samsung Display.

Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics said that preorder sales of its new Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Flip 7 smartphones have set a fresh record for its foldable Z series models in South Korea.

Preorders for the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Flip 7 series, introduced on July 9, amounted to 1.04 million units as of Monday, outnumbering the 1.02 million set by the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Flip 5, according to the company.

The previous Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Flip 6 series recorded 910,000 units in preorders.

The company said sales of the Galaxy Z Fold 7, which opens and closes like a book, accounted for 60 percent of total presales, while the clamshell-style Flip 7 made up 40 percent.

It is the first time that the Fold model has outsold the Flip model since Samsung Electronics launched its foldable lineup in 2019.

—IANS

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