Sharp executive Tai Jeng-wu has confirmed that the next iPhone will feature an OLED display. Speaking at the Tatung University in Taiwan recently, the executive said, “The iPhone has been evolving and now it is switching from LTPS (low-temperature poly-silicon) to OLED panels, we don’t know whether Apple’s OLED iPhones will be a hit, but if Apple doesn’t walk down this path and transform itself, there will be no innovation. It is a crisis but it is also an opportunity”.
Jeng-wu’s statements confirm what many analysts have been predicting for almost a year now. Early reports had suggested that Apple would be buying AMOLED panels from Samsung for its 2017 iPhone models, but it now looks like Sharp could be the main supplier of OLED panels for the iPhone 8.
According to the Nikkei report, Apple will be releasing three iPhone models next year, out of which only the premium 5.5-inch model will utilize a curved OLED display panel. The other two models are likely to continue using LTPS LCD displays. All three models are expected to sport an all-new design with a metal frame in the middle and a glass cover on the front as well as the back. It should be noted that 2017 will also mark the tenth anniversary of Apple’s iPhone.
While Samsung has been using Super AMOLED panels on its flagship smartphones for many years now, a number of Chinese manufacturers have also started switching to AMOLED panels for their latest flagships.
Source: Nikkei
