Apple Inc. AAPL has reportedly decided to incorporate organic light-emitting diode or OLED displays in all iPhone models, including the lower-priced iPhone SE, from 2025.
What Happened: This change will replace the current liquid crystal displays (LCDs) used in these devices, excluding Japanese panel suppliers, Japan Display Inc., and Sharp Corp., from Apple’s handset business, reported Nikkei Asia.
These firms, which once held a combined 70% share in iPhone displays, have recently been supplying LCDs only for the iPhone SE.
Apple has begun placing orders for OLED displays for the upcoming iPhone SE with China’s BOE Technology Group and South Korea’s LG Display Co. LPL, the report noted, citing unnamed sources.
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This signifies the end of LCDs in iPhones, with all models, including the SE, standard, and premium Pro models, all of which will sport an OLED display starting next year.
South Korean and Chinese companies are the dominant makers of OLEDs, with Samsung Electronics holding about half of the iPhone OLED display market, LG Display with about 30%, and BOE around 20%.
Neither Japan Display nor Sharp mass produces OLED displays for smartphones, and their supply of LCDs for iPhones is expected to end with the discontinuation of old SE models, the report stated.
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Why It Matters: This move by Apple comes just days before the company’s annual iPhone launch event, named "Glowtime," scheduled for Sept. 9, 2024, where it plans to showcase a variety of new products, including the highly-anticipated iPhone 16 series.
The shift to OLED displays could be seen as a response to increasing competition in the smartphone market, particularly from Chinese tech heavyweight Huawei, which scheduled a product launch event on the same day as Apple’s iPhone 16 lineup reveal.
Previously it was reported that in the first three months of 2024, Apple’s flagship product’s sales dropped by 16%.
However, Deepwater Asset Management’s Gene Munster has predicted that iPhone sales could increase by up to 15% next year, surpassing Wall Street’s 7% expectation. He expects the iPhone 16 to prompt 10% of users who planned to upgrade in 2026 to do so sooner.
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