Overview
- Industry reports published in early September say Apple’s book-style iPhone Ultra uses two ultra-thin glass (UTG) layers that sandwich the display to keep the panel off the hinge and reduce visible creasing.
- Those same reports say Google, Oppo, and Vivo plan to adopt dual-UTG display stacks for their next foldables as a direct response to Apple’s approach.
- Samsung Display is reported to be scaling mass production of UTG layers and building device-specific UTG assemblies to supply multiple brands, a step that would make broad 2027 rollouts possible.
- Manufacturers are taking different technical paths to cut creases — examples include a titanium support plate under the OLED and liquid 3D printing to fill the crease zone — but dual-UTG aims to spread mechanical stress away from the hinge.
- Analysts expect these display changes to help drive consumer adoption and higher shipments after 2026 growth of about 20 percent, although chip supply and memory-price pressure could still affect when and how widely the new models arrive.