iphone x oledOLED panels are expected to penetrate up to 30 percent of the smartphone display market by 2018 through increasing adoption by smartphone vendors, according to industry sources (via DigiTimes).

The supply of OLED panels will remain constrained in the first half of 2018 as Samsung Display will continue to be the sole supplier that can mass-produce the panels, while rivals including LG Display, Japan Display (JDI) and Sharp may start volume production of OLED panels in the second half of 2018 at the earliest, indicated the sources.

Tellingly, that penetration rate could climb higher if the burn-in issue related to OLED panels could be solved, according to cited sources. Multiple reports surfaced in October about potential screen burn-in or image retention issues with Google's new Pixel 2 XL smartphone.

For its part, Apple says the iPhone X has been engineered to be the "best in industry" at reducing burn-in effects, but a support document published by Apple suggests burn-in is still a problem that some users could potentially see over time.

Apple will launch a trio of new iPhone models in 2018, including 5.8-inch and 6.5-inch models with OLED displays and a 6.1-inch model with an LCD display, according to respected KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

Apple has reportedly also expressed interest in buying advanced LCD panels from Japan Display for use in some of its iPhones next year. OLED displays offer sharper contrast and brighter colors than traditional LCD panels, but cost and supply issues are an ongoing concern for Apple, and are likely to slow down any full transition to the technology.

Japan Display's advanced LCD panels, which it calls Full Active LCDs, are said to match or exceed some of OLED's advantages at a lower cost, and Apple is interested in procuring them for use in at least some iPhones set to debut in its 2018 smartphone line-up, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Meanwhile, supply constraints of OLED panels are providing current TFT-LCD makers with additional time to seek alternatives to further strengthen their competitiveness, said DigiTimes' sources.

Tag: OLED
Related Forum: iPhone

Top Rated Comments

itguy06 Avatar
102 months ago
Have had 2 phones with OLED - Samsung Galaxy S5 and now a ZTE Axon 7. No issues with burn in on either. Just great looking displays. I have seen some OLED's with burn in so I know it can happen but I think, much like plasma burn in, it's overblown.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Xgm541 Avatar
102 months ago
I imagine image burn in is one of the issues with the least impact for low market penetration. Price is probably towards the top... For example I doubt engineers working on budget Huawei phones are chosing LCD vs OLED due to image burn in.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Aluminum213 Avatar
102 months ago
Once you go OLED you don’t go back
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Grey Area Avatar
102 months ago
Once you go OLED you don’t go back
I've gone back. Not because I had any problem with it, but I also don't think the difference in image quality is really all that noticeable (definitely not living up to the hype). So OLED was not a requirement when I went looking for my next phone, and I ended up with LCD again.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
teknikal90 Avatar
102 months ago
Agreed. Having used LCD in older iphones, moving to a samsung phone with OLED, the difference was big but only initially and only due to the over saturation of colors (not necessarily a good thing). I now have the iphone x and OLED versus LCD differences are less noticeable due to proper calibration by apple.
this.
wife has an iphone 8 plus. i have the x. the difference is barely noticable if at all.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Henk Poley Avatar
102 months ago
There was image retention issues on the rMBP, there is image retention on my work 2011 iMac. It happens on a lot of things.
The biggest problem with OLED is not image retention. It's that your screen will deteriorate over the years, and the different RGB colours will deteriorate at different speeds. Making it more pink in due time.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro and Air Feature

Two iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air Colors Appear to Scratch More Easily

Friday September 19, 2025 10:02 am PDT by
As reported by Bloomberg today, some of the new iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air models on display at Apple Stores today are already scratched and scuffed. French blog Consomac also reported on this topic. The scratches appear to be most prominent on models with darker finishes, including the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max in Deep Blue, and the iPhone Air in Space Black. Images Credit: Consoma ...
iOS 26

Everything New in iOS 26.1 Beta 1

Monday September 22, 2025 12:44 pm PDT by
Apple released the first beta of iOS 26.1 today, just a week after launching iOS 26. iOS 26.1 mainly adds new languages to Apple Intelligence, but there are a few other features that are worth knowing about. New Apple Intelligence Languages Apple Intelligence is now available in Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Swedish, Turkish, Chinese (Traditional), and Vietnamese. AirPo...
Apple Foldable Thumb

Foldable iPhone Like 'Two Titanium iPhone Airs' Joined at the Hinge

Monday September 22, 2025 2:16 am PDT by
Next year's rumored foldable iPhone will showcase an ultra-thin design resembling "two titanium iPhone Airs side-by-side," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Writing in the Q&A section of his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman says Apple's first foldable device will be "super thin and a design achievement," combining Apple's thinnest iPhone form factor with cutting-edge folding...
iOS 26

iOS 26.0.1 Coming Soon, Likely With iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro Fix

Thursday September 18, 2025 9:17 am PDT by
Apple is preparing to release iOS 26.0.1, according to a private account on X with a proven track record of sharing information about future iOS versions. The update will have a build number of 23A350, or similar, the account said. It is likely that iOS 26.0.1 will fix a camera-related bug on the new iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro models. In his iPhone Air review, CNN Underscored's Henry T. ...
iPhone 17 Pro and Air N1 Feature

Some iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone Air Users Experiencing Intermittent Wi-Fi Issue

Monday September 22, 2025 8:44 am PDT by
Apple's latest iPhone models launched on Friday, and some early adopters of the devices are experiencing intermittent Wi-Fi issues. Affected customers say Wi-Fi connectivity periodically cuts out on the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air, with hundreds of comments about the issue posted across the MacRumors Forums, Reddit, and the Apple Support Community over the...
Apple Intelligence General Feature 2

iOS 26.1 Adds New Apple Intelligence Languages and Expands AirPods Live Translation

Monday September 22, 2025 11:15 am PDT by
With iOS 26.1, Apple Intelligence is gaining support for additional languages, including Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Swedish, Turkish, Chinese (Traditional), and Vietnamese. Apple announced plans to expand the languages that can be used with Apple Intelligence last year, and now the added language support is here. Apple Intelligence is now available in the following...