How the smartphone screen with world’s thinnest border was made

LG to start mass production in November [SUPPLIED]

South Korean electronics major LG is serious in its bid for glory in the smartphones domain, with the company just announcing what it claims is the ‘the world’s narrowest bezel at 0.7mm’ for 5.3-inch Full HD LCD panel for smartphones.

It must be noted that the bezel or the border is a necessary evil on the smartphone screen – it can’t be completely done with even as it has been becoming increasingly thinner of late. For one, we need it to negate the impact of accidentally touching the touch screen with our thumb while holding the phone in one hand.

It also adds structural integrity and strength to the otherwise fragile glass screen. In addition, and perhaps most importantly, the bezel or the border helps prevent accidental leakage of backlight and also helps keep the phone dust and waterproof. Finally, a bezel is also needed for aesthetic purposes if you think that a picture looks better in a frame. 

Back to the thinnest bezel, and after unveiling the screen on Thursday, October 30, LG Display added that it will start mass production in November and supply the product first to customers in China, ‘where demand for large screen smartphones is strong, while actively promoting it globally’.

“With this cutting-edge display, LG Display continues to lead the market in high-resolution large-size displays for mobile devices,” it noted in a media statement on Thursday.

To realise the 0.7mm bezel width on the left and right sides of the panel, which is narrower than the 0.8mm thickness of a credit card, LG Display says it used its ‘Neo Edge’ module processing technology and the world’s first ‘Advanced In-Cell Touch (AIT)’ technology. 

The Neo Edge technology uses an adhesive instead of double-sided tape to attach and completely seal the total area and edges of the panel’s circuit board and backlight unit. Because there is no plastic guide panel to attach the panel and backlight, the Neo Edge technology helps achieve minimal bezel width, while blocking light leakage and being waterproof and dustproof.

The adhesive seal also prevents corrosion that sometimes occurs along the edge of the glass panel when double-sided tape is used, while dramatically improving the panel’s durability despite the narrow bezel because of increased elasticity as the adhesive hardens.

The company’s AIT technology, exclusively developed by LG Display, reduces the need for bezel space because the touch panel is embedded into the LCD module. The technology offers a slim design and excellent touch, while saving costs since a separate process for touch functions is not required.

The company recently announced a more-than-doubling of operating profits on the back of record smartphone shipments in the third quarter of 2014.

LG Electronics announced unaudited third quarter consolidated revenues of KRW14.92 trillion ($14.54 billion), an increase of 7.4 per cent year-over-year, and operating profit of KRW461.3 billion ($449.61 million), more than double the figure from the same period a year ago.

On Thursday, it has fired another salvo in the battle for display supremacy by unveiling the “thinnest bezel” screen. “With the growing trend for large screen smartphones, customer demand for displays with a narrow bezel is increasing, because it enables users to enjoy the maximum use of screen area without compromising excellent grip and design,” said Byeong-koo Kim, Vice-President and Head of IT/Mobile Development Group at LG Display.

“With this innovative product having many advantages, ranging from its narrow 0.7mm bezel and high resolution picture quality to its slim design and touch-embedded solutions, LG Display will continue to lead the growing market for large screen smartphones, meeting the expectations of customers and users by enhancing the quality of devices,” said Kim.

The company acknowledged that its Q3 earnings reflected strong performance from its mobile business which saw record smartphone sales in the third quarter with sales of 16.8 million units. That number represents an increase of 39 per cent year-on-year and 16 per cent more units than the previous quarter.

It also noted that, building on its momentum and two consecutive profitable quarters, LG expects to strengthen its positioning in the smartphone market with its G Series and L SeriesIII models despite the landscape becoming more competitive.