[The Korea Industry Post, Nov, 25. 2015(=Seoul)] Samsung Electronics will apply Force Touch to Galaxy S series.

This is response strategy to Apple’s attempt to make another innovation in user interface (UI)/ user experience (UX) by applying force touch in iPhone 6S.

Continued relay of Apple, Samsung and even China’s Huawei deciding to adopt force touch in strategic smartphone is moving the parts and materials industry up and down.

Samsung Electronics, developing another method to realize force touch, different from Apple’s

Samsung Electronics mobile communication division’s advanced development team is focusing on developing piezoelectric material utilized force touch, targeting to apply it on Galaxy S7 which will be launched in the beginning of 2016.

While Apple used actuator which is formed with FPCB and electromagnet, Samsung Electronics is pushing the piezoelectric element method for realize force touch.

It is designed to sense the strength of finger pressing pressure by attaching 6~8 piezoelectric blocks to smartphone bezel. By using the piezoelectric method, it is easy to interlock TSP and realize multi-touch.

Still it takes long-time develop ‘force touch’ actuator chip that can realize multi-touch. And also the function needs to be supported by AP. According to the development schedule, ‘single’ force touch is most likely to be applied in Galaxy S7.

Also, considerable technological obstacles are scattered around in the process of developing new force touch. Piezoelectric method actuator takes substantial time to restore back to itself when it is left on typical direction for a long time. It is predicted that Japan’s Murata Co. and Korea’s Innochips Technology Co. will supply piezoelectric materials. These two companies are concentrating on technology that can increase the restoration ability by testing various piezoelectric material content ratio. Samsung Electronics advanced development team is searching for a measure to force the restoration time to decrease.

Samsung Electronics, adopts force touch, the Key is developing Killer app

Samsung Electronics looks like to have no problem in realizing force touch. But the real problem is that there’s no applications that can utilize force touch.

Thus, force touch can become unused function while only increasing the cost burden like the case of ‘Haboring’ in the past.

The pivotal point of new Samsung and Apple competition in force touch is what kind of new application Apple would release.

With force touch, Apple had achieved to simplify input function and increased the speed information access. They also made up space limit of small wearable devices like iWatch.

Still, Apple did not achieve success in developing killer app that can utilize force touch. Apple is only making use of force touch in basic input functions like responding to presses on display screen when receiving alarms. This is why force touch application, which would be released with iPhon 6S, is drawing world’s attention

Samsung Electronics Smartphone, adopting force touch… which parts and materials industry will be benefited?

Apple attached actuator, which can sense pressure, on LCD’s back light unit (BLU).

Samsung Electronics have high possibility of installing actuator on TSP using add-on type. More precisely, they made room in between smartphone’s cover glass and touch sensor bezel to attach piezoelectric block, which is 0.3mm thick.

Touch related partner companies of Samsung Electronics like S-mac and Iljin Diplay are expected to earn benefit when piezoelectric actuator is decided to be installed in TSP because of increased supply price and high added value due to early supply.

Samsung Display suggested method of supplying piezoelectric attached AMOLED to Samsung Electronics mobile communications division. This is believed to be the action to increase the supply price of displays.

Force touch takes high ratio in smartphone production cost. Therefore, there is possibility of Samsung electronics internalizing the new-tech in GTC (global technology center), which is in charge of Vietnam’s self-production line.

If Samsung’s gives weight on the direction of internalizing, partner companies will have only little fun with force touch business.

What is piezoelectric material?

A piezoelectric material is a matter that accumulates electric charge in response to applied mechanical strength. And reversely creates mechanical force by changing its volume when electricity is applied. Since it has advantage of serving the slimness and minimizing the parts, piezoelectric materials are utilized in smartphone speakers, camera module’s auto focus (AF) actuator, and so on.

The ‘Achilles’ heel’ of piezoelectric material is that it contains toxic elements like Pb, which causes environmental corruption in waste treatment step. Yet, the regulations related to Pb components in ceramics are postponed even in advanced countries like EU. However, the situation might change because discussions about making strict regulations about additives are spreading throughout the world.

Currently, piezoelectric materials market is dominated by Japanese passive materials companies like Murata manufacturing and TDK.

Korean passive materials company Innochips Technology successfully produced piezoelectric materials and is in competition with Japanese companies.

Innochips Technology is holding several piezoelectric materials related root patents and is developing products like speakers that utilizes the material. Piezoelectric materials business is expected to have rapid growth when Samsung Electronics’ demand for force touch increased in the future.

by Lyan Lee

goldlion2@kipost.net

translated by Taegeun Kim

ktg1130@kipost.net