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Having previously showcased its flexible OLED displays at the Consumer Electronics Show, Samsung is reportedly set to launch its first bendable screened smartphones in 2013.

To date nothing more than a concept device, Samsung has been well publicised to be working on the advancement of flexible screens with latest reports suggesting that in a radical shakeup of the smartphone market, the first flexible handsets will be ‘ready in early 2013’.

With the first devices said to be being prepared to enter mass production in the coming months, the Wall Street Journal has claimed that Samsung’s flexible handsets, which utilise plastic instead of glass for the screen components, is currently “in the last phase of development” with the manufacturer already sampling the displays with “a few customers.”

Tipped to launch in the first half of 2013, given the expected release date, it has been rumoured that the first handset to boast a flexible screen will be the high-profile and eagerly awaited Samsung Galaxy S4, a device which has previously been rumoured to be heading for release with a 1080p Full HD display.

Giving handsets more than a bendable gimmick, Samsung’s flexible displays would cut down on weight and help make devices almost unbreakable.

Made possible by organic light-emitting diodes’ (OLEDs) ability to be placed on ductile materials such as plastic and foil, the flexible displays will be constructed with plastic polymer, allowing the handset’s to withstand heavy-duty knocks, drops and accidents without being inflicted by performance depleting levels of damage.

"The key reason for Samsung to use plastic rather than conventional glass is to produce displays that aren't breakable,” Shinyoung Securities analyst Lee Seung-chul told the WSJ. “The technology could also help lower manufacturing costs and help differentiate its products from other rivals.”

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