Apple to launch three iPhones with OLED displays in 2018

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iphone 8 display
iPhone 8 could arrive on time after all.
Photo: Martin Hajek

Apple’s switch to OLED displays for the iPhone could come sooner than expected. A report citing sources familiar with its plans claims all new models launched in the second half of 2018 will use the new display technology, as opposed to LCD panels.

Apple is expected to use OLED displays for the iPhone this year, but it’s thought that only the flagship iPhone 8 will offer them. Other, more affordable models are likely to retain LCDs, which have been standard in the iPhone for the past decade.

One report warned that we would have to wait until 2019 before all of Apple’s latest handsets used OLED technology, but according to two industry sources who have been speaking to Nikkei, the complete switch will come next year.

“Apple is planning to use advanced organic light-emitting diode displays in all new iPhone models launched from the second half of 2018,” reads the report. One source added the company is “tentatively looking at releasing three new models next year.”

It is believed Apple’s move will mean big business for Samsung, which is expected to supply all OLED panels for the iPhone 8. However, a recent report indicated Apple could invest a significant sum in LG Display for exclusivity over its new OLED factory.

Apple is expected to kickstart a revolution in OLED smartphones. It certainly isn’t the first company to offer one, but thanks to the “iPhone effect,” over 50 percent of devices could be using an OLED display by 2020.

In addition to that OLED panel, which is expected to stretch to the edges of the iPhone 8’s body, leaving no room for a physical Home button, the device is rumored to get Apple’s next-generation A-series processor, facial recognition, wireless charging, and more.

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