“The latest report from South Korea is that Apple and Samsung have reached a deal for OLED screens for the next-generation iPhone,” Mark Hibben writes for Seeking Alpha. “The source for the latest report is the South Korean Pulse News, which claimed that Samsung Display had landed a deal to supply 60 million 5-inch OLED displays for the next-generation iPhone. The Pulse News report is similar to a Korea Herald report from last April that Samsung would supply 100 million 5.5-inch OLED screens for the iPhone.”
“Apple has kept using LCD screens for years explicitly because it felt that the technology was superior. I’m inclined to think that Apple wouldn’t switch to OLED unless it were convinced that it truly offered superior performance,” Hibben writes. “And the case for superior performance just isn’t very solid.”
“I also continue to find it implausible on business considerations that Apple would want to give Samsung billions of dollars in revenue and not a small amount of profit. Especially, for what appears to be a very marginal advantage,” Hibben writes. “Perhaps the best argument against OLED may be that Apple already has something better in development. This was disclosed in a patent granted on February 14 for an ‘Interactive Display Panel with IR Diodes.’ The patent was originally filed by LuxVue, which Apple subsequently acquired.”
“One possible scenario is that the iPhone 8 comes out with an LCD screen, and the entire technoverse rolls its eyes and bemoans the lack of innovation. This is a pretty ugly scenario, and one that Apple might want to avoid,” Hibben writes. “So it’s not inconceivable that Apple might decide to offer an iPhone model with an OLED screen just to placate consumer expectations.”
Much more in the full article – recommended – here.
MacDailyNews Take: It’s highly likely that Apple will choose the best technology available, since that’s what they usually do (modems not withstanding).
SEE ALSO:
Apple acquires 21 LuxVue patents with some using synthetic sapphire – May 6, 2014
Apple acquires LuxVue, maker of power efficient micro-LED technology – May 2, 2014