OLED

Bloomberg: next-gen MacBook Pro with OLED touch strip “most significant update in 4 years”

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 22, 2017

Bloomberg threw its weight today behind rumors that a next-generation MacBook Pro would have Touch ID and an OLED touch strip with programmable shortcuts replacing the function key row, among other features first predicted by KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Author Mark Gurman now writes for Bloomberg that the new MacBook Pros represent “the most significant upgrade” to the lineup in four years with the updated, thinner notebooks offering more powerful graphics processors “for expert users such as video gamers” and design features like a smaller footprint, thinner appearance, a bigger trackpad and more.

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Foxconn reportedly developing OLED displays and glass casings for 10th Anniversary iPhone in 2017

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 9, 2016

The rumor-mill has been adamant that a 2017 iPhone model—dubbed by the press a Tenth Anniversary iPhone because the original iPhone was announced and released in 2007—will adopt power-saving organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display technology and feature an all-new industrial design.

Japanese outlet Nikkei is now reporting that iPhone contract manufacturer Foxconn is developing both OLED displays (Foxconn bought Sharp earlier this year) and glass casings to secure orders for the Tenth Anniversary iPhone in 2017.

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Samsung Display is spinning off its successful OLED business ahead of OLED iPhones

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 4, 2016

Samsung Display, a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics, recently won a deal with Apple to supply its high-quality OLED panels for use in the next iPhone and now the South Korean company is spinning off its organic light-emitting diode (OLED) unit, The Korea Times reported Monday.

Samsung Display reported a 270 billion won (about $235.2 million) operating loss during the first quarter of this year due to the struggling LCD business and strong competition from Chinese makers of low-cost LCDs for mobile devices.

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Next-gen MacBook Pro to integrate Touch ID into the Power button?

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 22, 2017

Apple is believed to be working on the next MacBook Pro upgrade that should include, among a faster Intel processor and graphics and other hardware-related enhancements, an OLED bar replacing the row of function keys on the keyboard with programmable touch-sensitive shortcuts that could automatically change from one app to another.

In a new report Monday, 9to5Mac has learned from a sketchy source that the rumored OLED touch bar might be accompanied by a Touch ID sensor for fingerprint login.

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Sharp to begin producing OLED screens for a future iPhone before 2018

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 16, 2018

In addition to LG Display and Samsung's mobile display arm, both of which are now pouring significant resources into ramping up OLED panel production ahead of Apple's switch from LCDs to OLEDs for iPhones, Japanese outlet Nikkei is reporting today that Sharp is expected to do the same before 2018.

Apple is widely expected to make a switch to OLED screens in time for a tenth anniversary iPhone, due in 2017.

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Plausible concept imagines Magic Keyboard with contextually aware OLED function keys

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 17, 2016

KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo is adamant that one of the standout hardware features of a next-geneation MacBook is an OLED display which would replace the row of physical function keys. If that's the case, and knowing how Apple works, we might easily see this OLED touch bar come to a next-generation Magic Keyboard.

That's precisely the idea behind an interesting OLED Magic Keyboard concept by German magazine Curved.de, realized in co-operation with Dutch 3D artist Martin Hajek.

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Code found in macOS Sierra hints at rumored OLED touch bar, Touch ID support

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

Some evidence has been discovered within the code of the initial macOS Sierra beta that suggests there may be some truth to the rumors that Apple is building a MacBook Pro with a built-in OLED touch bar and Touch ID support. As noted by French site Mac Generation, there are several mysterious 'kHIDUsage_LED' references in macOS, as well as mention of support for "biometric devices."

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Analyst: iPhone 8 will rock Galaxy Edge-like wraparound AMOLED screen

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 1, 2016

IHS Technologies analyst Kevin Wang writes on Chinese social network Weibo that the iPhone 8, which we believe will release in the fall of 2017, will come outfitted with a dual-curved display similar to that found on Samsung's flagship Galaxy S7 edge, for a virtually bezel-less appearance. He also said just yesterday the next iPhone would replace the entry-level 16GB tier with a more capacious 32GB SKU.

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Here’s why an OLED touch bar would make a stellar addition to the MacBook Pro

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 25, 2016

KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has caused quite a stir among the faithful with yesterday's research note in which he predicted a major redesign for the MacBook Pro. He claims the refresh includes, among other features, an OLED display touch bar replacing the physical function keys, which are located above the keyboard on current machines.

As some have observed insightfully, the rumored OLED bar could actually turn into a way more powerful feature addition than meets the eye.

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Production machinery orders spiking ahead of iPhone’s switch to OLED screens

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 23, 2016

Many in the rumor-mill agree that Apple is planning to build an iPhone around the brighter, more power efficient AMOLED screen tech. New clues of 2017 bringing a major change to the iPhone's display technology appeared with news this morning that the world's top maker of display-making equipment, Applied Materials, reported an almost fourfold leap in orders for OLED production machinery.

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