Apple has apparently signed a deal with Samsung Display, a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics, to build an additional 60 million organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panels for iPhone 8, The Korea Herald newspaper reported Monday. The deal is worth five trillion Korean won, or about a $4.3 billion.
The deal is in addition to an agreement that Apple and Samsung signed last year to supply 100 million OLED display panels for iPhone 8.
iPhone 8, or 10th Anniversary iPhone as affectionately dubbed by the media, is expected to adopt the unrivaled organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display technology as utilized on Apple Watch screens and the new MacBook Pro's Touch Bar.
OLEDs are more difficult and pricier to produce than the traditional LCD panels so the decision to outfit iPhone 8 with an OLED-based screen could cost Apple approximately $50 million in incremental costs in the March quarter, according to an investor memo from Cowen & Company's Timothy Arcuri obtained Monday by AppleInsider.
KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicted in today's research note that Apple may adopt a combination of fingerprint and face detection sensors to supplant Touch ID.
In another note to clients obtained by MacRumors, Kuo claims that iPhone 8 will debut an enhanced form of 3D Touch technology with higher sensitivity and a wider range of pressure levels.
Apple's 2017 iPhone refresh should include an all-new iPhone 8 model widely expected to ditch the traditional power-hungry LCD technology in favor of the power-sipping OLED screens. Given Apple's scale and pent up demand for a refreshed iPhone industrial design, Apple's rivals are now worried that the company will eat up all the available supply of small and mid-sized OLED panels. According to DigiTimes, Apple's competitors are now rushing to secure production capacity for OLED panels, which could cause shortages.
Apple's contract manufacturer Foxconn is taking advantage of its acquisition of Sharp as the Japanese giant plans to set up an OLED production line in Zhengzhou, a city of six million people in an impoverished region of northern China, according to a report by Japan-based Nikkei that was cited Monday by trade publication DigiTimes.
Barclays Research analysts think Apple might offer iPhone 8 in two screen sizes, one measuring five inches diagonally and the other 5.8 inches. DigiTimes claimed in March that Apple had picked Samsung Display as the main supplier of 5.8-inch AMOLEDs.
In a follow-up report Thursday, DigiTimes reiterated that Samsung Display will be Apple's exclusive supplier of 5.8-inch AMOLED display panels for iPhone 8.
Samsung's next-generation Galaxy smartphone appears to be poised to beat Apple's upcoming iPhone 8 to the punch now that Bloomberg has corroborated much of SamMobile's report saying the Galaxy S8 will be a bezel-free device with a wraparound display featuring an in-screen Home button. The phone should be unveiled in February 2018 and launch in March.
That way, the Samsung device should enjoy a six-month lead over the iPhone 8's expected fall arrival. However, the Korean giant is considering scrapping plans for a dual-camera on the Galaxy S8 due to “higher manufacturing costs”, one of the sources told the news gathering organization.
Forget about Apple's just-refreshed MacBook Pro with the Touch Bar and Touch ID: Korean outlet ET News says the next refresh to the Pro might swap out LCD panels for the more power-efficient OLED screens not unlike AMOLED displays found on flagship Samsung smartphones and tablets.
“Apple is currently looking into ways of using OLED panels for MacBooks and testing their performance,” reads the report. In addition to power savings, an OLED screen on a future MacBook Pro could render brighter colors, provide better contrast and fast response speed whilst enabling ultra high resolutions.
Sharp President Tai Jeng-wu—who is also a high-profile executive at Foxconn, Sharp's parent company and Apple's favorite contract manufacturer—said publicly that Apple's next iPhone will use a curved screen based on organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology akin to that on Samsung's Galaxy S7 smartphone, Nikkei reported Saturday.
As you know, Apple currently uses OLED screens on the Apple Watch and the new MacBook Pro's Touch Bar. All iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices to date have used traditional LCD screens.
Bloomberg is reporting that Apple is in negotiations with Japanese consumer electronics maker Sharp to supply organic LED displays (OLED) for future iPhones. Any potential agreement is contingent upon Sharp’s production capability. The rumored discussions reportedly stem from Apple’s desire to secure multiple suppliers for organic LED screens and minimize exposure to any single supplier.
Apple's Tenth Anniversary iPhone due next year is widely expected to use the superior AMOLED display technology, but only for a short while as the Cupertino company looks to adopt the emerging Micro-LED screens in the long run, according to a report from Taiwanese trade publication DigiTimes.
Micro-LEDs waste far less battery power compared to other commercially viable display technologies, making them ideally suited for mobile devices like iPhones and iPads. Traditional TFT LCD panels waste a lot of energy because they require a backlight.
As you may have probably heard by now, Apple is expected to save its most significant smartphone overhaul—which many rumors said would include a wraparound screen based on advanced organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) display technology—for the Tenth Anniversary iPhone next year.
Japanese outlet Nikkei said today that Apple will position an AMOLED iPhone as a new premium choice. The device should come with a screen possibly measuring more than 5.5 inches diagonally. Moreover, existing 4.7 and 5.5-inch models will be updated next year, too, but are expected to retain flat screens like existing iPhones.