If you needed another proof that Apple will finally swap the MacBook Pro's Touch Bar feature for a standard function row of keys along with a physical Escape key, here it is...
The first OLED-based iPads should drop in 2022 beginning with the next iPad Air, with Apple following up with the first iPad Pro models equipped with OLED panels in 2023.
Before Apple officially made the switch to a mini-LED display in the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, there was a bit of a back-and-forth going on in the rumors department. Some stories said Apple would make the leap to OLED. Others pointed to mini-LED.
And now we know that Apple chose the latter, going with that display technology for its largest and most powerful tablet this year. However, there is still an expectation that Apple's simply biding its time, still planning to adopt an OLED display in at least one iPad model in the near future. Indeed, many believe that switch will happen in 2022.
Apple could be on the hook for missing contractual purchasing obligations concerning OLED panels for iPhones due to lower-than-expected sales of the iPhone 12 mini.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS:
Apple couldn’t fulfill previously-contracted OLED orders. This is blamed on sluggish iPhone 12 mini sales. Another proof that folks want larger phones. Apple could pay a penalty to SamsungA report from The Korea Herald hints that Apple may be unable to fulfill its previously agreed-upon purchasing order volume for Samsung-built OLED panels. The report suggests that no middle ground could be found between Apple and its chief OLED supplier, suggesting the iPhone maker would need to compensate Samsung's display-making arm.
Samsung Display’s worldwide small OLED shipments in January dropped nine percent month-to-month to 45 million units, according to market researcher Omdia, which added that the decline is apparently prompted by sluggish sales of Apple’s iPhone 12 mini.
Recent reports claim Apple slashed its planned iPhone production targets for the first half of 2021 by twenty percent, with poor iPhone 12 mini responsible for the majority of the cuts.
Industry observers are now predicting that Apple may once again have to pay Samsung a hefty penalty for not meeting the minimum order quantity.
Samsung Display is the sole supplier of 5.4-inch OLED panels for the iPhone 12 mini.
Apple has ordered a certain number of 5.4-inch OLED panels for the iPhone 12 mini. It's no secret that the iPhone 12 mini hasn't met Apple's internal expectations in terms of sales, thereby prompting the company to order fewer OLED panels for the device from Samsung.
And as a result of that, Apple may now need to compensate its rival.
It wouldn't be the first timeThis is hardly the first time the Cupertino tech giant has been punished financially for missing its previously-established component purchase targets.
Back in 2019, Samsung was paid a cool $638 million by Apple to compensate the Galaxy maker for lower-than-contracted orders for the iPhone's OLED panels. The following year, the Cupertino firm reportedly paid Samsung Display a whopping $950 million for failing to meet its OLED panel purchase targets. As Apple is a just-in-time operation, it's crucial that its leadership correctly estimates demand in order to avoid being punished by its suppliers like that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7L_vCxAFyOI
Subscribe to iDB on YouTube
OLED panels are notoriously difficult and expensive to produce in mass quantity. That's why OLED panel suppliers, of which Samsung Display is definitely the leader, define strict purchase order guarantees in their multi-year agreements with clients like Apple. It's no surprise that those agreements typically include clauses covering penalties for any unfulfilled orders.
Apple is poised to make an even bigger bet on OLED technology by releasing the first iPad and MacBook models featuring OLED displays in 2022, according to a new supply chain report.
It appears that Apple's rumored headset is indeed getting real, with a new supply-chain report naming chip maker TSMC as the supplier of micro OLED displays for use in the device.
Some iPhone 13 models to be released in 2021 may take advantage of LG-made OLED panels with low-power LPTO backplane technology, resulting in a more power-efficient device.
Apple's augmented reality (AR) glasses are expected to arrive in 2021, and now Sony has been mentioned as a probably supplier of sophisticated OLED panels for the rumored accessory.
The Spotify Music app is one of the best alternatives to Apple Music in terms of online music streaming for the iPhone or iPad, and while the application itself already sports a somewhat ‘dark’ aesthetic, there are certainly some areas where it could do with improvement for those who like using dark mode or who use an OLED display-equipped handset.
Blackout is a newly released and free jailbreak tweak by iOS developer atebitsy that brings improved dark mode and OLED display support to the Spotify Music app, and it does so by providing users with an always-blacked out Now Playing interface background, as depicted by the before and after screenshot examples above.
Apple made the right decision when switching from traditional LCD display panels to higher-end OLED display panels in its flagship smartphones, but one can’t help but question why iOS doesn’t take better advantage of the deeper black color tones made possible with OLED display technology.
If you have a jailbroken OLED display-equipped iPhone at your disposal and you’ve been asking yourself the aforementioned question since the day you first picked up the device, then we think you’re likely to enjoy a free jailbreak tweak dubbed Lisa by iOS developers Litten and Esquilli.
Apple reportedly paid Samsung's display-making arm nearly a billion dollars as a penalty for unfulfilled orders of pricey OLED panels for iPhones in the second quarter of 2020.
With this year's Worldwide Developers Conference now officially behind us, even more attention can be put ahead toward the iPhone 12 lineup, which is expected to arrive this fall (with iOS 14 on board!).