Samsung is about to supply the OLED displays to Apple starting from 2017 for the upcoming iPhone. The Korean herald has reported that Samsung has signed up with Apple in what is believed to be a $2.59 billion worth contract. With this, Samsung will supply the 5.5-inch display panels to Apple in tunes of 100 million units annually.
Apple is switching to the OLED technology as they remove the need for backlighting that is essential in the traditional LCD panel. This allows Apple to reduce the thickness and the bezel of the iPhone. Additionally, the OLED panels display sharper images and realistic colours than the LCD counterparts. The costs of the OLED panels have been coming down but there are still some difficulties in manufacturing them in mass quantities but that’s all Samsung’s problem now.
These rumours originally started three months ago when Samsung and LG were fighting for the Apple display contract. Since then, Samsung has invested almost $7.5 billion into a production facility that will be capable of producing the OLED display in quantities that Apple require. This total contract is believed to be split up between Samsung and LG with Samsung getting the lion’s share.
These displays will come in use in the iPhone that is to be unveiled in 2018 but we could see an iPhone 7S with OLED display in 2017 itself. Rumours also indicate that the screen size could be bumped up to 5.8 inches indicating Apple’s desire to increase the screen size in the iPhone plus series.
Apple could end up using this 5.5 Inch OLED display with a new external body that incorporates a curved glass encasing design but that is all speculation right now.
Stay tuned for more updates.
