Smartphone displays have come a long way. I mean, just look at the latest Pixel 8 Pro with one of the brightest screens in the market. However, the one thing that plagues all smartphone displays is a scratch at level 6 with a deeper groove at level 7. However, our future Android and iPhones might be protected with a self-healing display, and if that does happen, we are in for a treat.
Android and iPhones with self-healing displays sound amazing, but will they even be practical?
Based on a report, smartphones featuring self-healing displays could hit the market by 2028. So, in fairness, you still have four years and a couple of months for that to happen, but if my future Android or my wife's iPhone can have a self-healing display, I am all for it.
The report suggests that this will be possible through "nano-coating" on the surface of your Android or iPhone screen, and when the screen inevitably scratches, the nano-coating would react with air, which will result in a new material being created, filling out the scratched surface. It sounds very fancy and something you would see in a Marvel movie, but it is not science fiction.
“This is not in the realm of science fiction. It can be done. There are some new technologies that people are working on right now that look as though this could become something that people have another go with. We’re not talking about smashed screens miraculously coming back. This is all just little cosmetic scratches,” said Chief Analyst Ben Wood while talking to CNBC.
Now, another thing to note here is that this is not the first time we have heard about self-healing technology. Back in 2013, LG came out with the LG G Flex. The phone had a self-healing back where the scratches would disappear after a while. Scientifically, it happened because the phone's back had a coating of hydrogen atoms, and when scratched up, the atoms would rearrange themselves at equal distances. So, the fact that our future Android and iPhones could come with self-healing displays is something that I am looking forward to.
At the same time, I would highly suggest that you do not get too excited. On paper, this sounds fantastic, as fantastic as the promise of ultra-thin glass that is used in foldable phones, but at the end of the day, glass is glass; it breaks, and it scratches.
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