Samsung Debuts Tablet That Can Expand From 13 to 17 Inches

Samsung Display has created a tablet with an expandable display. 

During an appearance at an Intel Innovation event today, Samsung Display CEO JS Choi called the prototype the world’s first “slideable” tablet. It expands thanks to a rollable OLED panel and can function as a 13-inch display. But with a press of a button on a remote, the tablet will stretch out to a 17-inch device and then contract back to its original 13-inch size.  

As it stretches out or contracts, the tablet’s user interface will automatically adapt, giving the user more screen real estate to view content. 

Samsung showed off the prototype during a keynote from Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, who said he first spotted it while visiting the Samsung Display labs in South Korea. The display we saw rolled out from one side of the tablet. However, the Korean display maker also created a second version of the prototype that expands the OLED panel from both sides of the tablet. 

(Credit: PCMag/Michael Kan)

Samsung Display is showing off the prototype to PC and tablet makers in the hopes they’ll adopt the concept and turn it into a real product, according to a company representative. It remains unclear how much it’ll cost, but it’ll likely be pricey.  

“It’s a bet that we want to explore,” Intel VP Joshua Newman told journalists during a briefing. Market research also shows consumers want as much screen area as possible in the same size as a laptop, he said.  

The prototype also seems to be similar to LG’s effort to create a smartphone with a rollable display, which can expand out. In LG’s case, the company created a device that can fit in a pocket. However, the Korean vendor never brought the rollable phone to market after LG decided to exit the smartphone market.