Apple Aims to Make Every iPhone With an OLED Display by 2019

Monday March 6, 2017 5:30 am PST by Mitchel Broussard
A new supply chain report claims that Apple is planning to use OLED for every iPhone model by 2019, with the company expected to adopt OLED panels for 60 million units of the iPhone 8 later in 2017, equating to around 40 percent of its total manufacturing run (via The Bell) [Google Translate]. Apple will double the adoption of OLED panels for the 2018 iPhone before completely migrating over to OLED-only models for 2019.

The same report claimed that both Samsung and Inteflex are currently gearing up production for flexible printed circuit boards (FPCB) for this year's iPhone 8, with Samsung specifically beginning an expansion of its Electro-Mechanics plant in Vietnam to account for the increased Apple supply quota this year.


Apple plans to introduce OLED panels to all iPhone models by 2019. This year's introduction accounted for only 40%, but next year it is expected to double to 80% and 100% next year.
For the 2017 iPhone line, Apple is expected to stick with LCD panels for two of the iPhones -- currently referred to as the "iPhone 7s" and "iPhone 7s Plus" -- while making the "iPhone 8" its first-ever mobile device to include an OLED screen. Today's supply chain report said that Apple will use three suppliers to produce OLED panels, and orders for each will be decided and placed when production is started around April or May.

The iPhone 8 is currently rumored to include an edge-to-edge OLED display with an integrated Touch ID fingerprint sensor embedded within the screen. The OLED display is widely agreed to measure 5.8 inches, while the primary area of user interaction will be 5.15 inches, and below that there will be a "function row." The other two models are believed to keep the same aluminum design of current-model iPhones.

Related Roundups: iPhone 8, iPhone 11
Tag: OLED
Buyer's Guide: iPhone 11 (Buy Now)
[ 208 comments ]

Top Rated Comments

(View all)

Avatar
jerry16
36 months ago

Apple is expected to stick with LCD panels for two of the iPhones -- currently referred to as the "iPhone 7s" and "iPhone 7s Plus"


Sorry, I think you mean iPhone 6sss and iPhone 6sss Plus
Rating: 28 Votes
Avatar
69Mustang
36 months ago

Beat me to it! mLED will probably be in the high end model when they switch to OLED for everything else. At least I hope! I think the new "Pro" device will be a place to showcase newer tech without having to scale up so quickly due to the price point.

No matter the tech they use, I hope they don't use the 'Pro' moniker. Pro has been devalued so much it no longer connotes professional. It's just marketing speak now. I mean seriously, what would make a phone 'Pro'?o_O:rolleyes::confused:

As to mLED, I think the first appearance of that particular tech will be in the Apple Watch. Just like they did with OLED, the watch provides a perfect test platform to gauge the viability of mLED.
Rating: 16 Votes
Avatar
Avieshek
36 months ago
By then, Samsung would either be bringing Quantum-Dots display or atleast the 8th Gen OLED in mobiles.
Rating: 11 Votes
Avatar
H2SO4
36 months ago
There are going to be so many 180s on this forum when Apple finally decide to mimic Samsung tech.
Rating: 10 Votes
Avatar
jdclifford
36 months ago

By then, Samsung would be either bringing Quantum-Dots display or atleast the 8th Gen OLED in mobiles.

And Apple will be introducing COLOR OLED screens in 2020. Yeah! Tim Cook's idea of innovation is to be a few production cycles BEHIND everyone else. Oh look we just added more emoji!
Rating: 7 Votes
Avatar
blackcrayon
36 months ago

How long will you keep repeating the word Optimization, Forever?


Me specifically? I guess as long as it's appropriate. And as long as certain companies throw more and more slow cores at the problem and fail to resolve it (see: high end Android devices in 2016 finally catching up to iOS running on an A8 in performance).
Rating: 7 Votes
Avatar
69Mustang
36 months ago

Me specifically? I guess as long as it's appropriate. And as long as certain companies throw more and more slow cores at the problem and fail to resolve it (see: high end Android devices in 2016 finally catching up to iOS running on an A8 in performance).

Aaaaaaaand... nobody cares. I don't say that dismissively. The vast majority of the consuming public doesn't care about SoC's, core count, or any of the technical gobbledygook. Why? None of it is customer facing. The OEM's know it well. Why do you think companies spend inordinate amounts of money on ads for their cameras, screens, apps, etc.? Because that's what consumers care about.

The only people who care about the inside tech are the people who don't matter from a consuming perspective: tech geeks and tech press. It's the same on the Android side regarding "pure Android". Nobody cares, 'cept the reviewers and the vocal geek minority... while the consumers actually spend money on Samsung's with Touchwiz.

Face it, we (some of us) care about stuff that gets the side eye in public. Superior hardware/software integrated optimization never sold a product. Never will.
Rating: 7 Votes
Avatar
HJM.NL
36 months ago

How about this? Apple reaps 94% of the profits for cell phones because the optimization of
IOS is so good! HOWZAT?
[doublepost=1488834299][/doublepost]
94% of profits for Apple in the cell phone industry prove otherwise :)

I never understand that people are so proud of a company making that exorbitant much of profits with such a minimal effort. It can be translated to one thing: YOU PAY TOO MUCH FOR THE PRODUCT.
Rating: 6 Votes
Avatar
Appleaker
36 months ago
I'm hopeful that they'll be able to use microLED by 2019.
Rating: 6 Votes
Avatar
Jnesbitt82
36 months ago

What is this microLed and why is better than amoled etc ?

They look better, they respond to input faster, and they use a ton less power than current tech.
Rating: 6 Votes

[ Read All Comments ]