Apple Pushes For Use Of OLED Screen On All iPhones By 2019

Up to 40 percent of Apple’s iPhones would sport organic light-emitting diode screens in 2017, with 60 million iPhone 8 having the panel. The Cupertino-based giant would further accelerate its shift to OLED by using the panel on all iPhones by 2019, according to a new supply chain report. It would mean Apple would have to double its adoption rate for the OLED panels in 2018.

3 Korean OLED Makers

The OLED screens would be manufactured by Korean companies BH, Interflex, and Apple competitor Samsung which are currently preparing production for flexible printed circuit boards for the iPhone 8. To meet the higher demand for OLED panels, Samsung would expand its Electro-Mechanics plant in Vietnam amid a high supply quota from Apple in 2017, MaRumors reports. While waiting for more OLED panels, Apple would still use LCD screens for the upcoming iPhone 7S and iPhone 7S Plus, but the iPhone 8 would shift to OLED.

Interflex would spend $800 million on a new plant where it would manufacture flexible printed circuit boards for the iPhone 8 and future models of iPhone, BGR reports. The Bell, the source of the report, explains that the FPCBs connect chips to gadget parts such as the cameras and screens. Apple would decide the volume of its orders from the three OLED screen suppliers when it starts manufacturing in April of May, Patently Apple reports.

Edge-to-Edge OLED Screen

Besides the speculated edge-to-edge OLED screen for the iPhone 8, the next flagship is expected to sport an integrated Touch ID fingerprint sensor which is embedded within the screen. The OLED display is believed to be 5.8 inches, but user interaction’s primary area would be 5.15 inches, while below that would be the function row. But the iPhone 7S and iPhone 7S Plus would likely retain the same aluminum design of current iPhones.