Apple wants Sharp to make OLED displays for future iPhone

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Apple plans to put an OLED display in the next generation iPhone and according to a new report it is close to striking a deal with Sharp to supply the screens.


[contextly_auto_sidebar]Whether or not the two companies ink the deal will largely hinge on if Sharp can handle the massive amount of units Apple would need it to produce, reports Bloomberg.

The potential deal is part of Apple’s plan to increase the number of suppliers for OLED screens to mitigate risk if one supplier runs into problems. Sharp already produces LCDs for the iPhone. The Japan-based display company is also owned by Foxconn, which assembles the iPhone in China.

The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus use LCD displays even though other smartphone makers like Samsung moved on to OLED displays, like in the Galaxy Note 7. Apple’s latest LCD for the iPhone 7 was rated as the best LCD ever test, but OLED will offer more advantages for Apple.

Sharp announced today that it will invest $566 million into the development of OLED production. The company hopes to start producing OLEDs by June 2018, so if Apple wants to put an OLED in the 2017 iPhone it will have to look for other suppliers.

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