OLED Smartphones - introduction and industry news - Page 50

Bloomberg says that Apple is in discussions with BOE Display to supply OLED displays for next generation iPhones. According to the story, Apple has been testing BOE's displays for months but has not made a decision yet. The deal under discussion is not for the 2017 iPhone (which will exclusively use Samsung-made OLED), but for the one coming in 2018 or maybe even later.

The 2017 iPhone 8 (or will it be a >$1000 iPhone X?) will reportedly use AMOLED displays for at least one variant. These will be produced by Samsung Display, and reports from 2016 suggested that Apple paid $4.3 billion upfront to secure 100 million panels. A couple of days ago it was reported that Apple ordered an extra 60 million OLED panels from Samsung Display.

According to a report from Korea, Apple ordered an extra 60 million flexible OLED panels from Samsung Display for the next-generation iPhone, in a deal worth 5 trillion Korean Won, or about $4.3 billion.

The report says that this deal is an addition to Apple's original OLED order in late 2016. That 2016 deal, for 100 million OLEDs, was estimated at $4.3 billion as well, so it may be that this is actually the same display order that is just now being reported again.

There are many reports that detail Apple's 2017 iPhone lineup, and it seems quite certain that Apple will indeed release a high-end iPhone model that will adopt a flexible OLED. Those OLEDs will be produced by Samsung Display (Apple apparently paid $4 billion in advance to secure those displays).

According to a new report from Fast Company, Apple will introduce three new iPhones in 2017 - the iPhone 7S and 7S Plus, with 4.7" and 5.5" LCD displays, and premium 5.8" iPhone that will sport the OLED display. Fast Company says that this phone will be called the iPhone X (as in the 10th iPhone), and it introduce several new features (besides the new display technology) - and carry a price tag of over $1,000.

Despite the huge Galaxy Note 7 recall, Samsung Electronics announced an excellent quarterly report for Q4 2016. The company's operating profits were $7.9 billion - 50% higher than Q4 2015, and the company's highest profits in over three years.

The main drivers of Samsung's earnings were good chip and display sales - combined with a weak Korean Won rate. The Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge (and other mobile phones) enjoyed solid sales as well.

According to reports in Japan, Sony is set to return to the mobile phone market. The Japanese company is apparently planning to use AMOLED displays in its flagship phones that will be launched in 2018 or 2019.

In the past Sony used AMOLED displays in many of its products - including digital cameras, PDAs (remember those?), MP3 players, VR headsets - and its 2007 11" XEL-1 OLED TV, its PSP Vita mobile gaming console, its latest 2017 A1E 4K OLED TV and its high-end professional monitors. But Sony never actually used an OLED in a mobile phone. Ten year ago, Sony Ericsson did release some phones with PMOLED displays, though - for example the Z610 with its 128x36 PMOLED that was not visible when off.

Last week Samsung released several videos that showcase its latest Super AMOLED displays. The videos shows what looks to be an actual upcoming phone with almost no bezels on the sides and no physical buttons on the front:

This design has been suggested (leaked?) before for Samsung's upcoming flagship, the Galaxy S8. Samsung is expected to reveal the S8 soon, at the MWC 2017 event (February 27th). Of course this could just be a concept handset created for the AMOLED video, but it could also be Samsung's actual new phone that was added to the video by mistake (or not by mistake).

Samsung announced the Galaxy A-series family of fashionable phones. The 2017 editions all come with Super AMOLED displays, premium metal frame and 3D glass back.

There are three new A-series phones: the Galaxy A3 (4.7" 720p), the Galaxy A5 (5.2" FHD) and the Galaxy A7 (5.5" FHD). All three will ship towards the end of January in Russia - and later on globally.

Lenovo recently demonstrated two new foldable device prototypes that use flexible OLED displays. First up is the CPlus, a smartphone that turns into a smartwatch or actually a smart "band" that is worn on the wrist.

The CPlus sports a 4.26" display, and is based on Android. Lenovo aims to make two version of this device, when it reaches the market - a small one and a large one.

IHS says that flexible display shipments (mostly OLEDs) will reach 139 million units in 2017 (or 3.8% of the total display market) - an increase of 135% compared to 2016 (59 million units). In 2023 IHS sees shipments of 560 million flexible displays.

In 2017, flexible OLEDs will comprise 20% of the total OLED display market. The growth in flexible OLED adoption will be lead by smartphones - and especially Apple's next-gen iPhone. In 2016 76% of flexible OLEDs ended up in smartphones - and the remainder were used in smartwatches (mostly in Apple's Watch, probably). Next generation flexible OLED applications, including tablets, VR devices, automotive displays and OLED TVs are not expected to be significant until 2023.

Samsung is working on foldable displays for many years, as the company is looking to release a foldable phone that will be able to merge the phone and tablet markets (or possible a small phone that opens to a smartphone sized display). The company has recently accelerated its efforts, and such a phone may be released in 2017.

Foldable OLED concept (2013)

The main technology development drive is centered on the foldable OLED display itself - which is being developed for many years. According to a new report by ETNews, Samsung has decided to "test the waters" with a foldable phone that uses two different displays. This dual-screen phone will be easier to produce than a phone with a foldable OLED display. Of course the two displays, even if these are very thin-bezel ones, will still not merge to a real single display when the phone is open.