Samsung rumored offering foldable display samples to Apple for future iPhones

Posted:
in iPhone edited March 2019
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.
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.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 44
    Why isn’t the title prefixed with “Sketchy” just as the recent AirPods rumor?
    curtis hannahwatto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 44
    racerhomie3racerhomie3 Posts: 1,264member
    Apple needs at least 200-250 million units of these screens a year if they were to buy these. At the bare minimum even the iPhone X in its lifespan sold 60 Million.
  • Reply 3 of 44
    9secondkox29secondkox2 Posts: 2,664member
    Of course Samsung wants to use Apple as an advertisement for their bendy stuff. 

    “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.”
    edited March 2019 macplusplusapres587ravnorodomAppleExposedwatto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 44
    wood1208wood1208 Posts: 2,905member
    Stop this baseless talk. I would not even consider fold-able iPhone for next few years if the price is what it is. Has to come down under $1500.
  • Reply 5 of 44
    avon b7avon b7 Posts: 7,624member
    Apple needs at least 200-250 million units of these screens a year if they were to buy these. At the bare minimum even the iPhone X in its lifespan sold 60 Million.
    A folding Apple phone would almost certainly cost more than an iPhone X and that phone supposedly ran out of steam before it had been on the market for a full year. 

    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.
    curtis hannahmuthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 6 of 44
    entropysentropys Posts: 4,152member
    If Apple was actually building a foldable phone for 2020, wouldn’t it have received samples much earlier than this? With this timing it is probably 2021 unless foldable phones actually became popular and Apple had to do a crash program.
    I suspect Apple has no firm plans for 2020 but like any good corporation, it is exploring all product options.
    caladanianradarthekatwatto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 44
    entropysentropys Posts: 4,152member
    Apple needs at least 200-250 million units of these screens a year if they were to buy these. At the bare minimum even the iPhone X in its lifespan sold 60 Million.
    Where did you get those numbers from? How many do you think Samsung or Huawei will sell? The individual products from these companies do not sell as many as individual iPhones.
    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.
    muthuk_vanalingamviclauyycGeorgeBMacwatto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 44
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,834member
    avon b7 said:
    Apple needs at least 200-250 million units of these screens a year if they were to buy these. At the bare minimum even the iPhone X in its lifespan sold 60 Million.
    A folding Apple phone would almost certainly cost more than an iPhone X and that phone supposedly ran out of steam before it had been on the market for a full year. 
    Er, no, the X was Apple’s best selling phone the entire time it was out. They stated it. The stories that it wasn’t doing well were fake news. Can’t believe you’re still dropping these FUD pellets. 
    edited March 2019 entropysericthehalfbeemacplusplustmayanantksundaramracerhomie3macxpresschiaMisterKitn2itivguy
  • Reply 9 of 44
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,176member
    Apple needs at least 200-250 million units of these screens a year if they were to buy these. At the bare minimum even the iPhone X in its lifespan sold 60 Million.
    You think Apple would use a foldable screen on all iPhone models top to bottom? They would need nowhere near 200M+ IMHO. This a a relatively niche use, one model at a high price point would do. 
    curtis hannahmuthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 10 of 44
    curtis hannahcurtis hannah Posts: 1,833member
    I don't see Apple jumping on this bandwagon until it is popularized and settled upon the thing won't break after a year of use, and sure they can infer this by early 2020, but I doubt Apple is in any rush to push such a device.
    radarthekatcommand_fwatto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 44
    No doubt Apple has been testing such screens for some time. Doesn't mean they're going to make a folding device. Like any large electronics company Apple likely has countless ideas being worked on at any given time to see which ideas are feasible and which aren't.

    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.
    radarthekatcurtis hannahwatto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 44
    gerardgerard Posts: 83member
    I am sure if I pulled out a foldable phone it would be a conversation piece. That being said; I can’t see spending that kind of money for  tech that’s unproven. What happens if It gets wet? If you forget it in a hot car in the summer? Or a cold car in the winter?  Will those scenarios decrease the lifetime folds? How fast will the plastic screen get scratched? Sign me up when we get to West World level...

    clegerradarthekatwatto_cobra
  • Reply 13 of 44
    So, Samsung has current capacity to build 2.4 million flexible screens. Well, they’ll need to keep 10 of those for the Folds that they’ll sell. So, seems that need a buyer for those other 2,399,990 screens they can produce.

    I hope it’s a hard pass on Apple’s part.
    radarthekatguscatwatto_cobra
  • Reply 14 of 44
    metrixmetrix Posts: 256member
    Absolutely no interest in plastic screen, scratches in two seconds and looks awful.
    caladanianchiaradarthekatguscatwatto_cobra
  • Reply 15 of 44
    tzeshantzeshan Posts: 2,351member
    I admire Samsung for being leaders in component technology. Does Huawei make foldable display on its own Mate X? 
  • Reply 16 of 44
    tzeshantzeshan Posts: 2,351member
    So, Samsung has current capacity to build 2.4 million flexible screens. Well, they’ll need to keep 10 of those for the Folds that they’ll sell. So, seems that need a buyer for those other 2,399,990 screens they can produce.

    I hope it’s a hard pass on Apple’s part.
    Thanks, Samsung and Huawei never planned to sell tens of millions of foldable phones. Apple has nothing to do with foldable phones. 
  • Reply 17 of 44
    avon b7avon b7 Posts: 7,624member
    avon b7 said:
    Apple needs at least 200-250 million units of these screens a year if they were to buy these. At the bare minimum even the iPhone X in its lifespan sold 60 Million.
    A folding Apple phone would almost certainly cost more than an iPhone X and that phone supposedly ran out of steam before it had been on the market for a full year. 
    Er, no, the X was Apple’s best selling phone the entire time it was out. They stated it. The stories that it wasn’t doing well were fake news. Can’t believe you’re still dropping these FUD pellets. 
    Re-read what I wrote.

    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?
  • Reply 18 of 44
    mac_dogmac_dog Posts: 1,069member
    Return to sender—unopened. Not out of the realm of possibility for Samsung to claim patent infringement when Apple comes out with their own foldable phone. Although I don’t see a compelling reason why they would. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 19 of 44
    IamPatrickatmacdotcomIamPatrickatmacdotcom Posts: 1unconfirmed, member
    I wish these companies would stop re-inviting the wheel... iPhone's original design has carried through time well. Still at the top of my list. Android Phone companies should really innovate and create something else. Lets see how innovative they can get. They all are missing the very goal of smart phones Ai is learning and I don't think three's enough sensors yet or at-leased the right ones for the end game. Self Charging would be a feat. Enough micro computers connected to sensors and actuators. That can work together to create self driving cars < already here and an actual android what do you thing these virtual assistants are all about..? We are learning how to create robot workers and helpers. Smart phones have multiple cameras & sensors. Its the evaluation. Samsung, etc.. are blind & greedy from what I have seen. If apple were to purchase Boston Dynamics they'd be even more unstoppable in the future. Players to watch Google, Amazon, Apple, Tesla and there is prob one more. (Hi Apple are you going to pay me for 2001-02 anytime soon?)
    curtis hannah
  • Reply 20 of 44
    qwweraqwwera Posts: 281member
    Apple needs at least 200-250 million units of these screens a year if they were to buy these. At the bare minimum even the iPhone X in its lifespan sold 60 Million.
    You won’t find 100 dummies wanting to one much less 200 million lol

    Dumbest “consumer” product idea since Google Glass.
    macplusplusguscatwatto_cobra
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