Samsung operating 7 OLED lines at full capacity for Apple's 'iPhone 8,' report says
Samsung Display will reportedly be operating seven OLED production lines at "full scale" this month in order to churn out panels for Apple's "iPhone 8," the first iPhone to use OLED technology.
Concept art by Max Rudberg.
Samsung's related capacity has jumped from 30,000 to 45,000 panels per month a year ago to 105,000, ETNews said on Friday. While that number may still sound low, in this case each panel can be used to make several iPhone displays.
The "iPhone 8", coming this fall, is expected to feature an edge-to-edge, 5.8-inch OLED screen, with a portion of that being set aside for a virtual home button and other interface elements. Samsung should be Apple's sole OLED supplier, as it's currently the only firm able to produce smartphone-sized OLED panels on a mass scale -- curved OLED has been on Samsung phones as far back as 2014's Galaxy Note Edge.
The Apple Watch uses OLED as well, but its small display size is both cheaper and easier to manufacture for. It may be some time before Apple feels it's economical to bring OLED to bigger devices such as iPads and MacBooks.
Companies like Sharp and LG should eventually join the iPhone OLED supply chain, but not in time to make a meaningful contribution to this year's hardware.
Alongside the "iPhone 8," Apple is also forecast to release an "iPhone 7s" and "7s Plus," using 4.7- and 5.5-inch LCDs like the iPhone 7 line. They should have some "8" upgrades however, such as wireless charging and faster processors.
Concept art by Max Rudberg.
Samsung's related capacity has jumped from 30,000 to 45,000 panels per month a year ago to 105,000, ETNews said on Friday. While that number may still sound low, in this case each panel can be used to make several iPhone displays.
The "iPhone 8", coming this fall, is expected to feature an edge-to-edge, 5.8-inch OLED screen, with a portion of that being set aside for a virtual home button and other interface elements. Samsung should be Apple's sole OLED supplier, as it's currently the only firm able to produce smartphone-sized OLED panels on a mass scale -- curved OLED has been on Samsung phones as far back as 2014's Galaxy Note Edge.
The Apple Watch uses OLED as well, but its small display size is both cheaper and easier to manufacture for. It may be some time before Apple feels it's economical to bring OLED to bigger devices such as iPads and MacBooks.
Companies like Sharp and LG should eventually join the iPhone OLED supply chain, but not in time to make a meaningful contribution to this year's hardware.
Alongside the "iPhone 8," Apple is also forecast to release an "iPhone 7s" and "7s Plus," using 4.7- and 5.5-inch LCDs like the iPhone 7 line. They should have some "8" upgrades however, such as wireless charging and faster processors.
Comments
Better sell a few more shares just in case...
(the /s tag probably isn't necessary, but just in case...)
Samsung is a full generation ahead of LG and Sharp doesn't even manufacture panels at all.
While LG struggles with older technology, Samsung just demonstrated a stretchable panel and released Bio blue technology with a 4K display panel on a phone. A little overkill until one puts the phone into a Gear VR headset. Even Facebook is impressed. They are now focused on Samsung's approach of making Oculus technology mobile rather than tethered to a stationary computer.
Sharp will have to invest billions, competing with a company that is very rapidly advancing the technology and investing many more billions on their own. And what if Sharp invests those billions to produce an inferior product that costs more to produce than simply buying a panel from Samsung?
It will very likely be the case and it will mean that Sharp won't be around for long. LG is better positioned as they do manufacture OLED panels successfully. However, it is doubtful that they will be able to compete successfully in price either.
Samsung has essentially cornered the market for OLED. They can put the best technology on their own devices while selling their older technology panels at volumes and prices that none of their competitors can come close to matching.
For LG and Sharp to join the OLED supply chain, they would have to produce panels with similar quality and prices to Samsung. With LG it's a long shot and it would take a substantial investment by Apple to do so. For Sharp and everyone else, it would seem impossible. Unless of course, Trump goads Kim Jong Un into war.
Otherwise, Apple needs to work closely with Samsung. They don't really have any other choice.
Cook made a huge mistake in banking on LCD. I always felt he should have approached LG when they were in discussions over building the panel for the watch to also expand OLED manufacturing to the iPhone and iPad. Alas, he did not. Samsung now has locked nearly everyone else out of the market. And it is hard to see any other technology competing with OLED for the foreseeable future. Not with the investments and advancements Samsung is making in the technology. Perhaps Samsung may be willing to sell Apple their most advanced panels if Cook moves the A series line of SOCs back to Samsung fabs.
It is even worse on the Android side of the equation. Perhaps Xiaomi and Huawei might be able to purchase those panels for an agreement to put Tizen on their devices. It is very doubtful Samsung sells panels to manufacturers that compete with their own devices without a little additional "incentive."
But the best thing you could do is... get with the program. Cook & Co, in aggregate, have done a stellar job. If you nitpick the man on each topic you read about, each rumor that gets floated, you're probably speaking, like the rest of us, from either insuffient information or outright misinformation (presented by analysts and sour-grapes pundits), and that means you're missing, or choosing to ignore, the bigger picture of how this company and its management team operate.
2. LG didn't / couldn't make the OLED that Apple wants, LG now basically own the large OLED Panel market. But it is Samsung with AMOLED that is winning the OLED Panel on Smartphones, along with a few other Chinese manufacture. LG are testing their P-OLED this year on their flagship, once it is perfected Apple will likely use them.
3. One have to remember last year the world only ships around 250M OLED Smartphone. That is of all sort of quality standards. And Apple wanted some of the best quality with huge volume and No one could offer it.