Samsung rumored offering foldable display samples to Apple for future iPhones
Samsung Display has allegedly sent samples of a foldable display to Apple, which could point to a 2020 iPhone using the technology.
Samsung's Galaxy Fold.
The samples reportedly measure 7.2 inches, just 0.1 inches smaller than the main panel on the Samsung Galaxy Fold, according to South Korea's ETNews. The site didn't offer many other details, but did say that while Samsung is currently able to produce about 2.4 million foldable displays per year, it's contemplating ramping up to 10 million.
Samsung would be a likely candidate for providing foldable panels to Apple since it already supplies most of the OLED components for the iPhone XS and XS Max. In fact while fellow Korean giant LG joined Apple's OLED supply chain last year, it's unlikely to catch up with Samsung in the near future, if at all.
Apple has shown interest in foldable OLED for years in the form of related patent applications. With the launch of the Galaxy Fold, the company may now be under pressure to deliver a competing product. 2019 iPhones are expected to retain fixed panels however, and the typical analyst view is that Apple won't have any foldable iPhones ready until at least 2020.
Even then it's not clear what approach Apple might take -- the Galaxy Fold expands from a phone into a tablet, but it also costs at least $1,980, making it more expensive than most tablets and laptops. Apple may want to find some means of pushing down the cost, whether that involves waiting for cheaper production or using a simpler design.
Samsung's Galaxy Fold.
The samples reportedly measure 7.2 inches, just 0.1 inches smaller than the main panel on the Samsung Galaxy Fold, according to South Korea's ETNews. The site didn't offer many other details, but did say that while Samsung is currently able to produce about 2.4 million foldable displays per year, it's contemplating ramping up to 10 million.
Samsung would be a likely candidate for providing foldable panels to Apple since it already supplies most of the OLED components for the iPhone XS and XS Max. In fact while fellow Korean giant LG joined Apple's OLED supply chain last year, it's unlikely to catch up with Samsung in the near future, if at all.
Apple has shown interest in foldable OLED for years in the form of related patent applications. With the launch of the Galaxy Fold, the company may now be under pressure to deliver a competing product. 2019 iPhones are expected to retain fixed panels however, and the typical analyst view is that Apple won't have any foldable iPhones ready until at least 2020.
Even then it's not clear what approach Apple might take -- the Galaxy Fold expands from a phone into a tablet, but it also costs at least $1,980, making it more expensive than most tablets and laptops. Apple may want to find some means of pushing down the cost, whether that involves waiting for cheaper production or using a simpler design.
Comments
“Hey Apple. We don’t like charging high end laptop prices for our useless Foldy stuffs. Help us pay for it and do the R&D for us to copy in your devices.”
Apple is all “LOL. No.”
Price for consumers is an issue so I can't see Apple needing 200 million screens. Not by a long shot.
I think they'll produce a folding phone, though. And it will be very expensive.
I suspect Apple has no firm plans for 2020 but like any good corporation, it is exploring all product options.
If they each sell ten million folding phones over a year I would be surprised. These are hero products, for bragging rights and to promote the idea they are innovators. It’s a different approach from Apple. You hear nada from it until the product is ready (AirPower a glaring exception). Other tech companies tell you about it well before release, and then load it up half polished.
My prediction is Apple will make changes to the UI so your EXISTING device is even more usable with multiple Apps, rather than make a device with a crappy folded screen that feels like a limp noodle every time you tap the screen.
I hope it’s a hard pass on Apple’s part.
How long was it out? Was the most popular in the last quarter it was out?
I believe Apple made no mention at all of popularity in that last quarter.
That omission coincided with reports of sales of iPhone X dropping off far faster than any other previous new iPhone.
But as you are fully aware, Apple doesn't break sales down so 'most popular' could be as little as one more unit sold for each claim.
All good for the message though, right? And when they said they would drop unit sale reporting altogether, we all nodded along with Lucas' reasoning, right?
But forget all that and look at what and why I wrote that.
Do you also think that Apple would need over 200 million Samsung folding screens?
Dumbest “consumer” product idea since Google Glass.