14 DAY TRIAL // Apple’s 2019 iPhone generation is likely to include the last iPhone model that comes with an LCD display, according to a new report today.
The Cupertino-based tech giant is currently using a mixed device lineup that relies on both LCD and OLED, and the upcoming facelift scheduled for September 2019 will be based on the same approach.
This means the three models going live this year will include successors to each of the three models currently on sale, including an upgraded iPhone XR that will use an LCD panel.
New iPhones based on iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max will also launch, though this time Apple will stick with OLED.
All-in on OLED next year
In 2020, however, Apple will give up on the iPhone XR and instead launch only iPhones that use OLED screens, according to a report from the WSJ. If this is true, Apple could either launch three iPhone models that use OLED or just give up on the iPhone XR and stick with a two-model lineup.
The first OLED iPhone launched by Apple was the iPhone X introduced in 2017 alongside the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, both of which used LCD. The demise of LCD in Apple’s lineup continued in 2018 when the company reduced the number of iPhone models using this screen tech from two to just one.
Apple’s suppliers are expected to be hit by this decision to give up on LCD entirely, but on the other hand, the company is already working with partners on preparing for the manufacturing of more OLED panels. One supplier that could benefit from the switch to OLED could be Samsung, which is already producing the panels used on the iPhone XS.
Japan Display is one of the firms that will suffer from Apple’s switch, as it currently makes the LCD panels used on the iPhone XR.