In late 2010, Samsung Electronics announced the development of a prototype 4.5 inch flexible AMOLED display.[29] The prototype device was then showcased at Consumer Electronics Show 2011.[30] During the 2011 Q3 quarterly earnings call, Samung’s vice president of investor relations, Robert Yi, confirmed the company’s intentions of applying the technology in handsets and added “… we are looking to introduce [the flexible displays] sometime in 2012, hopefully the earlier part."[31] In January 2012 Samsung acquired Liquavista, a company with expertise in manufacturing flexible displays, and announced plans to begin mass production by Q2 2012.[32][33] During Samsung's CES 2013 keynote presentation, two prototype mobile devices that incorporated the flexible AMOLED display technology were shown to the public.[34]
On 8 October 2013, the Samsung Galaxy Round was unveiled as the world's first mobile phone with flexible display.[35] Featuring a 5.7" touchscreen display made of flexible material, the phone (and the screen) were curved in shape but the phone itself was solid, thus not allowing its body or the screen to be bendable. The Samsung Galaxy Round was 7.9mm thick and weighed 154 grams.[36] The smartphone ran on Android 4.3 Jelly Bean operating system and was sold for $1000 upon release.