The iPhone 8 isn’t even out yet, and already Samsung Display has reportedly signed a deal with Apple to supply OLED panels for the 2018-era iPhone 9.
While Samsung is producing 80 million OLED displays for the iPhone 8, that number will allegedly more than double for the iPhone 9, for which Samsung will manufacture 180 million OLED screens.
“The two companies have recently signed a non-disclosure agreement on general conditions, including the screen size,” an industry source is quoted as saying. Despite this, the report goes on to note that the iPhone 9 will allegedly come with two different size OLED display options, including a 5.28-inch and a 6.46-inch variant.
As one would expect at this stage, other features are still under development. If the iPhone 9 follows previous Apple refresh patterns it would seem likely that it would gain only minor “s-number” upgrades, mainly focusing on internal improvements rather than major external redesigns.
With that said, the fact that this year will also likely see Apple’s last LCD displays for the 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch iPhone 7s and 7s Plus means Apple’s iPhone upgrade cycle is diverging from that of previous years.
To build its new OLED screens, Samsung is allegedly preparing to build new OLED production facilities exclusively for Apple at its Asan, South Chungcheong Province manufacturing plant. In other words, those who have wanted Apple to ditch Samsung as a supplier may be sorely disappointed!
Source: Theinvestor
