Samsung is reportedly starting to mass produce smartphones with a hole in the display, which is code-named “Infinity-O,” according to Korean media company ET News. While it is rumored that Huawei may launch a smartphone with a hole in the display next month, Samsung is believed to have exclusivity over pierced flexible OLED screens.
The first device to have a pierced hole in the display is expected to be with a midrange A-series, which could be called the Galaxy A8s. But that device may have an LCD panel that is cheaper to build than an OLED screen.
Samsung Galaxy A8s may be the first phone with an Infinity-O display hole https://t.co/xbAFsTXhRZ pic.twitter.com/2qXUjqJ2Dv
— XDA Developers (@xdadevelopers) November 27, 2018
Adding a hole in the display is an impressive engineering feat because having a hole in a screen with an image around it can be more difficult than having a bezel protrusion at the top, often referred to as a notch.
Samsung reportedly found a way to use its existing laser equipment to set up its OLED conveyor builds for drilling the holes in the displays rather than having to install new machines. Once this is fully set up, the front-facing cameras will be placed in the holes on a mass production scale.
Samsung’s Hole in Active Area (HIAA) process uses diode-pumped solid-state (DPSS) lasers to make the screens. And two small holes would be in the screen: one that is for the camera lens and another one for an infrared sensor.
By implementing this process for flexible OLED lines, it would ensure that Samsung stays ahead of the competition in terms of innovation. And it seems likely that the Galaxy S10 devices would have HIAA technology with flexible OLEDs.
