Samsung will Supposedly Supply OLED Display for Consumer Version of Google Glass

[dgstorm]

It looks like forces are moving in the industry and the manufacturing phase of Google Glass is pushing forward. New intel has surfaced that Samsung will be providing the OLED displays for the consumer version of the Google Glass wearable computer. Here's a quote with the details,

The current versions of Glass, which Google has so far sold to developers and enthusiasts through the Explorer program, is said to feature a liquid crystal on silicon (LCOS) microdisplay, though official technical information isn’t available.

If the report is accurate, Samsung will provide OLED on silicon displays to replace the LCOS technology. OLEDs (organic light emitting diodes) require no backlighting, as liquid crystal displays do, which may let Google save space in the Glass by removing the lighting source. In addition, OLEDs have lower power requirements than LCDs, which is important in applications where the size of the battery is limited, such as Glass.

At the Society for Information Display convention in Vancouver, Samsung Display’s CEO hinted at this collaboration: “OLED on silicon may be used for glasses-type, augmented-reality devices much like the Google Glass”. The executive went on to say that Samsung’s flexible OLED technology could be used in other wearable devices, such as smartwatches and health bands. Sources told Android Authority ahead of Google I/O that the Mountain View company is working on a smartwatch that has been demoed internally in several offices. ~ AndroidAuthority

It's interesting how hindsight allows us to read between the lines of statements made in the past and see the hidden meaning. It's also interesting to see the relationship between Google and Samsung continue to strengthen despite all the media speculation that Samsung is looking for a way to dump Android in favor of Tizen. Perhaps Samsung is simply "hedging their bets" and creating a backup plan in case things go sour with Google. After the way things went with Apple, it's hard to blame them.