OLED

Apple’s allegedly brokered $2.6 billion deal with Samsung to supply OLED panels for iPhones

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 15, 2016

Apple has reportedly brokered a deal with its South Korean frenemy Samsung, worth an estimated $2.59 billion, to supply OLED panels for future iPhones, scheduled to ship in 2017. Citing sources familiar with Samsung's plans, The Korea Herald reported Friday that Samsung's mobile display making arm, Samsung Display, will manufacture about hundred million OLED panels annually, measuring 5.5 inches diagonally, starting next year.

KGI: 5.8″ AMOLED iPhone with iPhone 4-like curved glass design due in 2017

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 28, 2016

Last month, supply chain sources claimed Apple was working to launch a 5.8-inch iPhone featuring rigid AMOLED display panels some time in 2017.

And now, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has said pretty much the same thing in his most recent analysis issued to clients yesterday, a copy of which was obtained by AppleInsider.

The device should have a curved glass casing similar to the design of the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4s and a “completely new form factor design” with narrow bezels providing a “more comfortably grip.”

Apple planning to release OLED iPhone in 2017, says report

Cody Lee ∙ Updated February 14, 2017

Apple plans to introduce the first iPhone with an OLED display in 2017, reports Nikkei. Citing sources familiar with the matter, the outlet claims that the company has contacted LG and Samsung to discuss ramping up OLED production in time for next year's handset launch.

If true, Apple's move to OLED displays will occur at least a year earlier than some estimates, and two years earlier than predicted by noted analyst Ming Chi Kuo. In a November note, Kuo said that he expects Apple to continue using existing TFT-LCD panels until at least 2019.

LG Display increasing curved OLED production as rumors of OLED iPhones intensify

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 19, 2016

Multiple sources have been adamant over the course of past few months that Apple and its Asian suppliers have been making preparations to produce tens of millions of OLED panels for use in future iPhones.

Tuesday, Taiwan-based DigiTimes said, citing a report by Korea-based ET News, that LG Display, the lone supplier of flexible OLED screens for the Apple Watch, has begun ramping up curved OLED production amid rumors of the Apple OLED switch.

Rumor: Samsung pouring $7+ billion into flexible OLED production for iPhones

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 14, 2016

Korean outlet ET News said Thursday that a contract between Samsung and Apple on supplying flexible OLED screens for future iPhones has practically been agreed upon, with the South Korean conglomerate committing to a whopping $7.4 billion in capital expenditure over the next couple of years to buy OLED manufacturing equipment needed to produce about 30,000 to 45,000 OLED sheets per month.

Although Apple is said to have secured agreements with other panel makers for OLED technology, the size of the investment suggests that Samsung is about to become Apple’s biggest flexible OLED provider.

Apple said to be close to signing OLED deal with Samsung and LG Display for future iPhones

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 30, 2015

A report Wednesday by ET News contends that Apple is “close” to signing a definitive supply agreement with both Samsung Display and LG Display concerning OLED screens for future iPhones.

Although iOS devices have used ubiquitous liquid-crystal display (LCD) panels since their inception, organic light emitting diode (OLED) technology features deeper blacks and requires less power because it doesn't need a power-hungry backlight module to illuminate the pixels.

Report: Apple working on advanced screen display tech that’s thinner, brighter, and lighter

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 19, 2018

A late evening report from Bloomberg's Tim Culpan has shed a bit of light on Apple's plans regarding the future of its display technology for iPhones, iPads, and other devices. Culpan's report shows that Apple has opened a secret lab within a Taiwanese science park, and has no less than 50 engineers working on advanced versions of LCD and OLED display technology.

Apple's goal, according to the report, is to create screens that are thinner, lighter, brighter, and more energy-efficient than the screen technology used in current production iPhones and iPads. The report emphasized Apple's keen interest in OLED technology in particular, since it requires no backlight, a fact that can help meet the improvements in energy efficiency and thinness that the Cupertino firm is seeking.

Apple supplier LG Display building $4 billion OLED plant

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 20, 2015

LG Display, which supplies Apple with flexible OLED screens for the Apple Watch and LCD panels for other gadgets, is reportedly building a brand new facility that will significantly increase its OLED panel production as the firm looks to meet expected market demand as of 2017 onwards, according to a report from Korea's Digital Times cited by DigiTimes.

The new plant will cost north of $4 billion to build, with assembly lines expected to start churning out OLED panels for smartphones, tablets and TVs sometime between 2017-2018.

Samsung reportedly on the verge of supplying OLED screens for future iPhones

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated August 4, 2016

Samsung, which uses AMOLED screens in many of its flagship smartphones and tablets, could become a major provider of OLED panels for the iPhone maker as a deal is all but secured, according to an ETNews report Friday citing a Samsung Display employee.

The report arrives hot on the heels of a research note that KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo sent to clients earlier this week, in which he estimated that Apple won’t be switching to AMOLED screens for iPhones anytime soon and will continue using the existing LCD display technology for at least the next three years.

KGI: Apple won’t be switching to AMOLED screens for iPhones anytime soon

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 10, 2015

Talk of an iPhone equipped with a power-efficient AMOLED screen technology has persisted for years. Yet, Apple continues to build iPhones with LCD screens that use a premium display technology, called IPS (In-Plane Switching), for wide viewing angles and improved image quality.

Rumor: top Apple display suppliers exploring flexible OLED screens for ‘iPhone 8’ in 2018

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 14, 2018

According to the South Korean media, Apple is actively exploring using flexible OLED screens for future iPhones. OLED, an energy-efficient display technology, is based on organic light-emitting diodes which are lit up individually, as opposed to traditional LCDs that require power-hungry backlight planes.

In OLED screens, the diodes are arranged on a film of organic compound which acts as the emissive electroluminescent layer that emits light in response to an electric current.

Major Korean display manufacturers are reportedly persuading Apple to adopt flexible screens on its future iPhone models, with one industry source claiming that the Cupertino company is in fact “serious” about doing it.

Not only would OLED screens make future iPhones more power-efficient, but also offer better color saturation, accuracy and brightness.

Apple rumored to be switching to OLED screens for future iPhones

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated August 4, 2016

Apple is teaming up with its contract manufacturer Foxconn on building OLED-based screens for future smartphones and wearables, GforGames reported Thursday citing a fresh report from Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun, one of the leading newspapers in Japan.

Foxconn is said to be working with touch panel company InnoLux, also an Apple supplier, to put together an ecosystem which will allow the production of sixth-gen low temperature poly-silicon films, aimed at entering mass production in 2016.