KGI Securities' analyst Ming-Chi Kuo estimates that SDC charges Apple $120 to $130 for each flexible OLED display to be used in the upcoming iPhone OLED edition. Ming-Chi says that the 5.5" LCD used in the iPhone 7+ costs $45-$55.
SDC is the exclusive supplier of OLEDs to Apple (mostly because no other company can produce such high quality displays and at such high volumes) and so can enjoy a high premium on its flexible OLEDs. Other estimates we hear, though, say that the price premium of SDC's flexible OLEDs is only about $50 over a competing LCD. It is a bit difficult to compare these two kinds of displays, though, as flexible OLEDs offer functionality that LCD cannot compete with.
Some estimate that the price of Apple's OLED iPhone will be over $1,000 - which means that Apple can absorb the $50-$80 extra cost. Others suggest that SDC will only be able to ship a limited number of displays to Apple, which means that Apple may well indeed want to keep the price high and volumes low, at least initially.
