Unbreakable smartphones may hit the market soon

Disclaimer: Don’t read this if you haven’t broken a phone before. Of course, all of us have, at some point in time. Market research firm International Data Corporation has found that damage from the drop is the primary cause of harm to handheld devices, which is followed by exposure to liquid. But things could be changing as early as this year when Samsung and Huawei expect to bring their first flexible and unbreakable phones.

Samsung has lately been testing the panel, which has a coating of fortified plastic window solution. The drop tests conducted by Underwriters Laboratories have shown that the panels are unbreakable.

Samsung said the smartphones will be foldable and is likely to hit the market in late 2018. Samsung Display’s General Manager of the Communication team, Hojung Kim said the fortified plastic window is lightweight and similar to glass but has additional unbreakable characteristics that are suitable for portable electronic devices.

Meanwhile, Samsung’s rival Huawei has been testing flexible OLED panels manufactured by Chinese supplier Beijing Oriental Electronics. And Huawei is looking to beat the Korean rival at any costs in bringing the foldable devices to the market.

Huawei has a history of outstripping bigger competitors. In 2014, Huawei raced ahead and launched Ascend P7 Sapphire with sapphire crystal display, immediately following reports that Apple (AAPL) would be using the display for the next iPhone. Apple ended up not using the technology.

In 2015, Huawei brought Force Touch, which distinguishes different levels of force being applied on the screen, before Apple could come up out with same.