Apple's 'iPhone 8' may not use curved OLED due to production problems
Although Apple's upcoming "iPhone 8" is expected to offer a 5.15-inch AMOLED screen with a 2K resolution, the company is dropping plans to make it curved because of problems discovered in testing, a research firm said on Tuesday.
'iPhone 8' concept image by Moe Slah.
Curved glass has been suffering in terms of both production yields and drop-test results, according to TrendForce, which cited supply chain sources. Apple has typically been rumored as adopting curved screens similar to Samsung's Galaxy S7 Edge, and indeed the company is thought to have signed a $4.3 billion deal to buy OLED panels from Samsung.
The "iPhone 8" will instead use the same "2.5D" glass found on devices like the iPhone 7, TrendForce said. In that case, the display should be largely flat except for rounded edges.
The research firm otherwise reinforced screen claims seen elsewhere, including that the device will drop a physical home button in favor of virtual buttons, helping to make it more compact -- to the point that despite its large display, it could be sized the same as the 4.7-inch iPhone 7, rather than the Plus. It should also incorporate 3D facial recognition, possibly as a replacement for Touch ID.
Apple is also said to be producing two LCD-based iPhones sized at 4.7 and 5.5 inches like their predecessors. Elsewhere, these devices have sometimes been referred to as the "iPhone 7s" and "7s Plus."
TrendForce notably suggested that while the AMOLED model could cost up to $1,000 or more, as rumored, it could make up the bulk -- "at least 40 percent" -- of a forecast 100 million next-generation iPhones Apple will produce. As such, most of the world's AMOLED panel production is expected to consumed by Apple and Samsung, leaving rivals like Oppo and Huawei scrambling for their own supplies.
The firm also claimed that the AMOLED iPhone will sport 3 gigabytes of DRAM, and come with 64 or 256 gigabytes of storage. The 5.5-inch model is expected to keep the same amount of DRAM, and offer up to 256 gigabytes of storage, while the 4.7-inch model could be similar but lower DRAM to 2 gigabytes.
'iPhone 8' concept image by Moe Slah.
Curved glass has been suffering in terms of both production yields and drop-test results, according to TrendForce, which cited supply chain sources. Apple has typically been rumored as adopting curved screens similar to Samsung's Galaxy S7 Edge, and indeed the company is thought to have signed a $4.3 billion deal to buy OLED panels from Samsung.
The "iPhone 8" will instead use the same "2.5D" glass found on devices like the iPhone 7, TrendForce said. In that case, the display should be largely flat except for rounded edges.
The research firm otherwise reinforced screen claims seen elsewhere, including that the device will drop a physical home button in favor of virtual buttons, helping to make it more compact -- to the point that despite its large display, it could be sized the same as the 4.7-inch iPhone 7, rather than the Plus. It should also incorporate 3D facial recognition, possibly as a replacement for Touch ID.
Apple is also said to be producing two LCD-based iPhones sized at 4.7 and 5.5 inches like their predecessors. Elsewhere, these devices have sometimes been referred to as the "iPhone 7s" and "7s Plus."
TrendForce notably suggested that while the AMOLED model could cost up to $1,000 or more, as rumored, it could make up the bulk -- "at least 40 percent" -- of a forecast 100 million next-generation iPhones Apple will produce. As such, most of the world's AMOLED panel production is expected to consumed by Apple and Samsung, leaving rivals like Oppo and Huawei scrambling for their own supplies.
The firm also claimed that the AMOLED iPhone will sport 3 gigabytes of DRAM, and come with 64 or 256 gigabytes of storage. The 5.5-inch model is expected to keep the same amount of DRAM, and offer up to 256 gigabytes of storage, while the 4.7-inch model could be similar but lower DRAM to 2 gigabytes.
Comments
lol
The headline should read: "Analyst pulls wrong guess out of ass. Gets AppleInsider to help shove it back."
But even then, I hate it when Apple seems like they're following in the footsteps of you know who.
"Apple's 'iPhone 8' won't use curved OLED due to it being a stupid unnecessary gimmick."
Fixed that for you.
It may however still have curved glass, unless this new design prohibits that.
Ranking of importance:
Security
Durability
Price
Battery life
Features & Apple Apps (TouchID, updated OS, etc.)
Performance
Appearance (size, weight, thin'ness)
Samsung is able to consistently manufacture this type of display for itself. Is the world expected to believe the company cannot successfully manufacture this type of display for Apple's $4.3B? 😉
Fits Samsung perfectly though.
TVs used to be curved outwards because a) a curved screen was easier to manufacture, and b) the curve provided structural integrity given that it was one big vacuum tube. Producing a Cathode Ray Tube with a flat screen was difficult, the best solution was the Sony Trinitron which was a cylindrical section of glass, rather than a spherical section. The reason we suddenly went to "flat" screens was that LCD displays suddenly got a lot cheaper. LCDs were easier to manufacture as flat sheets, and since they didn't have a massive vacuum behind them there was no reason to make them curve. Also, it avoided problems with the electron gun losing focus, and spherical aberration of the image at the edges.
Modern curved TVs are curved inwards, because of some idea about having all parts of the screen equidistant from the viewers' eyes (provided they sit at the focus), or providing a "surround" image. It costs way too much for basically putting an LCD screen on a curved bit of plastic (yes, I know there was some clever engineering that went into doing that, but really...), and is mostly of any value as a marketing gimmick.
Curved phones, though, are a different matter. Is the whole screen curved? Is it just at the edges? Is it concave or convex? Does it serve any actual function, rather than showing off your manufacturing ability? Does it improve the way the phone feels in the hand? Does it make it easier to accidentally activate interface objects because of how you hold your phone? To me, it seems like a solution in search of a problem. It will add cost to manufacturing, and not really deliver any value in usability.