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Apple has signed a two-year contract with Samsung for the supply up to 92 million curved OLED panels, to be installed on its 10-year anniversart iPhone 8 (X, edition, or whatever they are going to call it). Earlier this week, the Nikkei Asian Review revealed that a source close to Apple’s supply chain had told them that in total Samsung are on course to manufacture OLEDs for Apple. The number was originally reported at 70 million, but that looks to have no been ramped up.
Apple and Samsung are of course rivals at the top of the smartphone market, so why would one company want to give its competitor such a cash injection? Well the answer is simple. If you want bendable OLEDs, well there isn’t really an alternative to Samsung Display. Controlling 99 per cent of the market share in the mobile OLED space, Samsung has somewhat of a monopoly that even Apple cannot infiltrate.
It would imply that at least one of the next generations of iPhones would feature a curved screen in one way or another. Whether or not that means that the iPhone will look more like Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S8 (launched last week) remains to be seen. Apple is reportedly set to launch three phones in September; the 7S, 7S Plus and then a 10-year anniversary iPhone called the Edition, X or 8 depending on who you believe.
In its latest report, Nikkei poured more fuel on the iPhone rumour fire, announcing that the new smartphones will come with wireless charging, will be waterproof and will have 3D sensors with built-in facial recognition. And if size does matter to you, Nikkei claim the 7S and 7S Plus with be 4.7-inch and 5.5- inch respectively, while the anniversary phone will have a 5.2-inch OLED screen.
Last month Apple released two red editions of its iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, in support of Aids/HIV charity RED.
