Foldable devices are edging towards becoming mainstream, with a growing number of manufacturers joining the movement with their iterations and more established brands, such as Samsung, Huawei, and Honor, releasing their third, fourth, and fifth-generation foldable devices.

While foldable smartphones are becoming more sophisticated with camera technology, charging speeds, and overall profile, across the foldable element of the two screen halves, a crease can be seen visually and felt when using the screen, which many consider unsightly.

What Is the Foldable Display Crease?

Whether it's a fold or flip-style device, the crease in foldable displays appears at the point where the screen folds. A visible, indented line can be felt when running a finger across the display. The crease is a byproduct of current hardware and engineering limitations. It is not just a cosmetic problem; it can affect usage, especially when watching videos or reading text.

How much of a problem the crease is depends on the user, as some people can get used to it and look past it, whereas others cannot. Either way, a visible crease can lead to a lower adoption rate for foldable devices, preventing them from becoming fully mainstream.

Why Hasn't the Foldable Display Crease Issue Been Resolved?

While manufacturers attempt to resolve the crease problem with new hinge designs, it remains an elusive challenge. This is largely due to the materials used in the display to allow it to be foldable, such as ultra-thin glass and polymer plastic film to accommodate the flexibility.

A material that can avoid a crease would require the material to be harder and rigid, which would break when folded. Achieving a material that can be perfectly balanced to fold and maintain its integrity over time is a complex engineering challenge.

Economic factors need to be considered regarding the research and development of folding screens. There is a limit to the amount that can be passed on to the consumer, and other features, such as battery life and camera improvements, also contribute to rising costs.

Display Crease Improvements

Although the folding display crease is an issue, there have been efforts to reduce its effect on user experience, including:

• The "waterdrop hinge" is a unique design that changes the folding shape of the device. When the display is folded, instead of the typical "U" shape, it folds in the shape of a teardrop, compressing part of the screen to allow a fully flat design. This design helps reduce the effect and severity of the crease but can compromise the design in other areas. For example, during testing, Samsung found the waterdrop hinge would downgrade its phones from waterproof to water resistant.
• Using more robust materials allows manufacturers to introduce hinge improvements other than the waterdrop shape that actively seek to reduce the crease. For example, Honor's Magic V2, revealed at IFA 2023 (pictured above), features a titanium alloy hinge that should remain strong while allowing a flatter crease.

While these efforts have not removed the crease entirely, it shows manufacturers are addressing the problem. It indicates that while there are limitations, steps are being taken to research and tackle this issue, and we could be one step closer to seeing a crease-free design on phones and foldable display laptops in the future.

Folding Display Crease Does Not Seem to Be Going Anywhere Soon

When the root cause of the crease in foldable displays is examined, material limitations, challenges in engineering, and economic factors all contribute to the issue. Therefore, users are presented with the same choice: adopt and suffer the growing pains, or wait to see what future updates bring.