The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip is the first folding phone with a glass display — an impressive feat, though so far, it hasn't exactly proven to be very durable. The company still believes in its product and has decided to commercialize and scale up production of the Z Flip's display cover (not the OLED panel itself, but the layer on top of it). The ultra-thin glass (UTG) will be available for purchase for other manufacturers building foldable devices.

The company shares a few details on the glass, saying it can be mass-produced to fit various display form factors. It's only 30µm thick and is injected "with a special material up to an undisclosed depth to achieve a consistent hardness." This might explain why the cover feels so easily scratchable on the Galaxy Z Flip's display. Samsung also had the UTG tested by an independent company certifying that it can be folded up to 200,000 times without damage, but as we've learned from the Galaxy Fold, the folding mechanism accompanying the screen and the cover is also an important factor playing into durability. Samsung seems to be well aware of potential issues and advertises the glass as "tough, yet tender."

The Galaxy Z Flip is the first commercial product to bear the new technology. Samsung says it expects more devices to use the cover as the demand for folding devices increases. It also states that it has been working on commercializing UTG since 2013, so it's the culmination of years-long research and development. That makes it actually surprising that the Galaxy Z Flip only costs about $1400, which is as much as the S20 Ultra — Samsung seems to be hard-pressed to push its foldable technology into the market and become a successful first mover both in components and products.

Source: Samsung