Roger Fingas
Apple is working to switch to OLED displays for iPhones beginning in 2018, a major Japanese publication reported on Wednesday.
The corporation has already notified suppliers about its intent, and LG Display is ramping up capacity accordingly, Nikkei claimed. LG was recently revealed to be planning a new Korean factory valued up to $4.2 billion, but there was no indication that the company was specially targeting the iPhone or even Apple.
At the moment Apple has only one product with OLED — the Apple Watch — for which LG is the exclusive display provider.
Nikkei suggested that LG will likely be joined by Samsung, since the latter can more reliably mass-produce OLED panels and LG might not have the capacity to meet iPhone demand. Samsung has provided a number of parts for Apple in the past, including LCDs.
It was also speculated that LG's limits might force Apple to offer both OLED and LCD iPhones, but this may be unlikely given the company's preference for keeping screens consistent across products. While the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus use displays with different sizes and resolutions for instance, they share the same underlying technology and produce similar results.
OLED panels are flexible, and top LCDs in both power use and visual quality. Some functions can potentially deteriorate, but Apple is reportedly talking with both display suppliers and the makers of manufacturing equipment, hoping to eliminate these issues within the next year or so.
Earlier this month KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo argued that OLED wouldn't come to iPhones until at least 2019, citing continued investments in LCD manufacturing by companies like Foxconn.
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35 Comments
Uh oh. Let the Androidification of iOS begin. You will like the new dark theme! Black is your new favorite color! /s
2018 is a long way... this is 2015... almost 2016... and we have to wait for three years.
I wonder if it would be worth the revenge if Apple subsidized LG's manufacturing plant to help meet demand and take Sammy out of it's display business permanently. This would give Apple more control and profit in the long term. Just a wild idea.
Maybe it might have something to do with this patent?
"Apple's Most Advanced OLED Display Invention to date Surfaces with a Fingerprint Reader under the Display of an iPad"
This is related to iPad but I can't see why it can't apply to iPhone.
http://www.patentlyapple.com/patently-apple/2015/11/apples-most-advanced-oled-display-invention-to-date-surfaces-with-a-fingerprint-reader-under-the-display-of-an-ipad.html
2018 is a long way... this is 2015... almost 2016... and we have to wait for three years.
Exactly, Apple is always working with new technologies trying to improve their products - so yes they are working to a better OLED if they can, if not then it will be something else. Rumours like this are only good for clickbait.