Samsung bets big on flexible OLED for future iPhones and foldable devices

Samsung is already dominating the OLED market, reportedly providing 95 percent of the OLED displays shipped in the first quarter of 2016. Now the company is making a big investment in flexible OLED in an effort to meet growing demand for the trendy material.

Business Korea reports that the South Korean giant is selling off some of its LCD production lines while it converts others to produce flexible OLED instead. Samsung already invested 2 trillion won (roughly $1.7 billion) in the components earlier this year. Now it’s apparently set to spend another 3 trillion won ($2.56 billion) by the end of 2017.

Samsung reportedly expects demand for flexible OLED to increase quickly as more companies start using it in their devices. The company recently said its first foldable devices are “right around the corner.” Even Apple is rumored to adopt the technology within the next few years, which could really jump-start the market.

Samsung’s flexible OLED is already used in its curved-screen devices like the Galaxy S7 Edge. As the material becomes more readily available and less expensive we may see even more companies offer similar handsets, though it’s still unclear which firm will be first to release a truly foldable smartphone.