iPhone 8 will strain world’s supply of OLED displays

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The iPhone 8 won't be cheap.
The iPhone 8 won't be cheap.
Photo: iDropNews

Apple will acquire 14 percent of all OLED panels produced this year for the upcoming iPhone 8, according to a new report.

Cupertino, along with South Korean rival Samsung, will require so many that rival smartphone makers like Huawei will be forced to use alternative technologies due to an insufficient supply.

Recent rumors have somewhat crushed our hopes of an all-OLED iPhone 8 lineup this year. It now looks like Apple’s new 4.7- and 5.5-inch handsets will retain LCD displays like their predecessors, while fans will have to pay more for a “premium” OLED model.

Despite that, Apple will snap up 14 percent of all OLED panels produced in 2017, reports Digitimes. South Korean rival Samsung, which is expected to manufacture every single one of those, will use 56 percent of the OLED panels produced.

That leaves just 30 percent for other smartphone manufacturers like Huawei, which is expected to get just 8 percent of the total share. Follow Chinese companies Oppo and Vivo are expected to secure 13 percent and 10 percent respectively, thanks to deals with Samsung Display.

“Samsung Display produces an estimated 300 million AMOLED smartphone panels a year,” reports Digitimes. “After priority supply for Samsung Electronics and Apple, Samsung Display can supply only about 50 million AMOLED panels for China-based smartphone vendors a year.”

Due to the OLED panel shortage, most smartphone manufacturers have been forced to utilize alternative display technologies, like LTPS (low-temperature poly-Si) TFT-LCD panels. Others will use a-Si TFT-LCDs.

 

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