The arrival of OLED displays for future iPhones is looking more of a sure thing than ever, with a new report stating that Apple is on the verge of finalizing an agreement with Samsung Display and LG Display to build its future screens.
According to sources, Samsung will produce around 90,000 OLED substrates per month for Apple, while LG will produce 60,000.
Total number of smartphone displays that should generate? The report doesn’t make it explicitly clear, but it is likely to be in the region of 400 million displays per year.
Given that Apple sold an estimated 230 million iPhones this year, that should be more than enough to meet Cupertino’s demands.
The 400 million number comes from the report that LG’s expanded OLED panel facilities should produce 60,000 substrates per month at total capacity, which translates to approximately 200 million 5-inch displays a year.
A similar comparison isn’t given for Samsung Display’s Apple supply, but it will reportedly aim to produce 90,000 substrates each month. With Apple rumored to be bringing out a smaller 4-inch iPhone in addition to its current 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch models, 400 million iPhone displays from Samsung and LG’s total of 1,800,000 substrates seems a conservative estimate.
The two companies are said to be investing a combined $12.8 billion in OLED production over the next 2-3 years to meet expected demand from Apple.
Apple could make the switch from its current LCD iPhone panels to OLED ones for iPhones released as early as 2017, meaning that it would debut with the iPhone 7s.
Via: Digitimes
