Apple really is working to bring flexible OLED displays to the iPhone, according to a new report from South Korea, but we’ll have to wait until 2018 to get them. Supply chain sources claim Apple is “serious” about making the switch from LCD screens, which have “weak points.”
“According to an industry source, Apple is “serious” about transferring its flagship product lineup to one equipped with organic light-emitting diode (OLED), screens as those displays can solve its existing weak points such as color saturation, accuracy, and brightness,” reports Business Korea.
“The source added that if Apple releases an iPhone with an OLED-based flexible screen, it will create a huge market, as Apple has not yet used the technology in its flagship models.”We’ve been hearing claims about iPhones with flexible OLED displays for several years, and seen many flexible iPhone patents, and they’ve always seemed pretty unlikely.
But that’s no longer the case. There are a number of reasons why Apple might decide to ditch its existing LCD displays in the coming years.
OLED technology has improved significantly to the point where it’s no longer considered inferior to LCD. Samsung’s latest OLED displays are considered some of the best available. In fact, OLED now brings a number of advantages that make it ideal for mobile devices like the iPhone.
In addition to increased color accuracy and saturation, as noted above, OLED displays can also be brighter and more power efficient. Unlike LCD displays, OLED displays are also capable of lighting individual pixels, so darker screens don’t require anywhere near as much power.
This is likely one of the biggest reasons why Apple chose to use OLED displays in Apple Watch, which has been praised for its terrific screen.
But what about flexible OLED displays? Well, that may be possible, but a flexible display doesn’t mean a flexible iPhone — or even a curved display. Apple could employ flexible displays simply because they’re more robust and less likely to shatter.
Another advantage to flexible displays could be better Force Touch, which is rumored to be making its way to the iPhone this year. Presumably, that requires some flexibility, and if you’ve ever pressed too hard on an LCD display before you’ll know they can go funny under pressure.
But according to Business Korea’s report, we’ll need to wait until 2018 for an iPhone with a flexible OLED screen. That would suggest they’ll come with the iPhone 8, but it seems highly unlikely now that Apple will make us wait that long for an iPhone with Force Touch.
OLED displays for the iPhone and even the iPad certainly look more plausible than they ever did before, but whether or not they’ll be flexible remains to be seen. We’ll have to wait a few years to see what Apple’s been working on.
[via G for Games]
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