A customer shows a newly purchased iPhone 6S Plus at the Apple Retail in Palo Alto, California September 25, 2015.
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Apple is planning to make the switch to OLED display technology for its iPhone handsets, according to reports on Wednesday, but not until 2018.
The news comes in a report from the Korea Times who have received some information from a Samsung executive about the talks between Apple and Samsung. This issue was seen on some of the first OLED Samsung smartphones like the Galaxy S.
If Nikkei’s report is true, and Apple does switch to OLED displays for the iPhone 8, the move could have devastating consequences for Japan Display and Sharp, Apple’s current LCD display manufacturers.
According to the executive, this strategic plan could help to diversify Samsung’s client base and display portfolio, which at present, is only limited to Samsung Electronics. As a result, Apple will reportedly start out by offering OLED and LCD iPhones; given the lower energy-efficiency of the LCD screens, the latter could even be priced lower than OLED iPhones. It seems that Apple had already informed LG of their intent and the company is said to be ramping up its production capacity accordingly. If Samsung Display will get a go-signal for the order of the production of OLED-screens for Apple’s iPhones, the release of this product will be most likely performed at the L5 plants in South Korea. The same thing with LG Display, they also hope to continue dealing with Apple for its iPhone panels.
Apple’s shift to OLED displays will have major implications for two Japanese suppliers – Sharp, which is scrambling to rebuild its faltering operations, and Japan Display, which relies on the computing giant for 30% of its business.
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OLED displays can also produce higher resolution images than current iPhone LCD technology, with more vibrant colors.
