Future Smartphones Could Have A Self Healing Display

As technology moves forward, all future smartphones are expected to have wireless charging as a common feature. One thing that we have learnt from current smartphones that support wireless charging is that they are almost entirely made of glass. This means that as much hard as companies claim their glass is, there are chances of it breaking.

That may not be the case in the near future as a team of researchers in South Korea have developed a self-healing material that can repair cracks in under thirty minutes. The material is called Elastomer and could be the answer to the fragile build of smartphones in order to support certain features.

Elastomer is able to heal itself at room temperature and at the same time, doubles the amount of the highest level of existing tensile strength. In simple words, tensile strength is the resistance of a material to breaking under tension. Something that happens to a lot of smartphones made of glass. Elastomer not only heals itself but, it also maintains the original ruggedness of the material.

According to the research team, this new material can be used as a protective layer on smartphones. While it is hard to predict the timeline for the material to become commercially available for smartphone makers, it seems like a step in the right direction. As gadgets become thinner, their frailties against drops will invariably become more prominent and companies don’t seem to be lowering the repair costs of out of warranty devices.

Right after the launch of the iPhone X, it was discovered that people who don’t opt for Apple Care might have to shell out up to US $279 to get the screen repaired. A self-healing material will definitely help the consumers save money and also use their devices a bit more freely without always worrying about the damage.

This is not the first time we are hearing about a solution for fragile smartphones. A few months ago, it was reported that Motorola would start featuring a self-healing display on its future smartphones. Recently, students of the University of Tokyo claimed that they had discovered a self-healing glass that could be used in smartphones as well.