14 DAY TRIAL // It’s not a secret that Apple is planning to move from LCD to OLED tech for iPhone displays sometime in the future, and while several pundits claimed that the transition could take place in 2017, analyst firm UBI Research believes this might actually happen one year later.
But it turns out there’s more. The switch OLED will indeed be made by Apple sometime in the next couple of years, but it appears that the company is only planning it for certain models, so others will continue to feature the current (and old) LCD displays for a little longer.
Cited by Korea Herald, UBI Research President Lee Choong-hoon says he expects Apple’s first OLED iPhone to launch in 2018, one year later than the most recent estimates suggest. Furthermore, he forecasts that OLED models “would make up to 30 percent of 100 million units of total iPhone shipments,” which means that a different version will continue to be offered alongside it.
Exclusive features for bigger iPhones
This is most likely a sign that OLED displays will remain exclusive to specific iPhone models while LCD will also be provided for the rest of the lineup. Apple is probably aiming to offer OLED on either Plus or Pro, should the latter be launched by then, thus trying to make a bigger difference between the standard model with a 4.7-inch screen and the larger versions.
This would also align with other rumors suggesting that Apple is planning to offer more exclusive features on bigger iPhones. Pundits have claimed that the iPhone 7 Plus could come with a dual-camera configuration while the standard 4.7-inch model would continue to offer the same single-camera setup.
Other reports pointed out that the transition to OLED screens would also take place together with other bigger changes, including a completely new design with an all-screen front look incorporating all parts, such as the Touch ID sensor and the FaceTime camera.
Certainly, these are all rumors for the time being, and everything should be taken with a pinch of salt until Apple itself provides more details on how it plans to breathe life into its future iPhones.