Apple's Budget iPhone X May Have Same Ultra-Bright, Low-Power LCD Technology as LG G7

[MacRumors]

Apple's widely rumored 6.1-inch iPhone with Face ID may use the same MLCD+ display technology as LG's new G7 ThinQ smartphone, according to a BusinessKorea report today spotted by the blog Patently Apple.

BusinessKorea:

According to the smartphone industry on May 9, Apple is expected to load its next 6.1-inch iPhone model with an MLCD+ display which LG used in its G7 ThinQ smartphone. The MLCD+ display realizes a bright screen with less power consumption than the IPS LCD display.

Whereas a traditional LCD screen has three sub-pixels, forming a red, blue, and green stripe, MLCD+ screens have a fourth white sub-pixel for increased brightness, yet with lower power consumption than an IPS LCD panel. LG's G7 has a peak brightness of 1,000 nits, for example, compared to between 625 nits and 804 nits on the iPhone X.

Like the OLED display on the iPhone X, MLCD+ screens can also display 100 percent of the wide DCI-P3 color gamut for improved color accuracy. The panel in the G7 is capable of 10-bit color depth, so if Apple used this technology, the 6.1-inch iPhone could be more compliant with some HDR standards.

Rumors suggest the 6.1-inch iPhone will essentially be a lower-priced iPhone X, achieved through some cost-cutting design compromises, including the lack of an OLED display. Based on this report, however, it sounds like the device could still have a better display than the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus.

The 6.1-inch iPhone will also have an aluminum frame rather than stainless steel, a single-lens rear camera, and may lack 3D Touch, according to former KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. He predicted the device will be unveiled later this year with a starting price of between $700 and $800 in the United States.

Article Link: Apple's Budget iPhone X May Have Same Ultra-Bright, Low-Power LCD Technology as LG G7

 

[TComm]

It sounds great. I will buy one if the price is really around $700.

 

[itsmilo]

Could not give a damn about OLED so I am fine with that I am probably one of the few who do not like those „tint..ish oilfilm“ looking OLED screens at all

 

[dan9700]

whats so much better than oled seems this is better so why not do the flagship with this?

 

[citysnaps]

My X's OLED screen has been my only grip about an otherwise outstanding phone.

 

[Jsameds]

Looking at all the Samsung OLED phones with burned in displays we get through work, I'm glad it's LCD.

 

[Freida]

SOunds like a winning technology. I really don’t like the OLED displays.
So excited about this.

 

[DNichter]

I am happy with my OLED, but not sure I would really notice the difference in day to day usage. If the feature set is the same, I'd certainly consider this model. My gut tells me it won't be though.

 

[blancoBronco]

whats so much better than oled seems this is better so why not do the flagship with this?

personally I like the ability of tapping the screen to wake the phone up. it's a small feature, but it's one I would like to have

 

[CarpalMac]

personally I like the ability of tapping the screen to wake the phone up. it's a small feature, but it's one I would like to have

Once you have had double tap, it's very hard to go back. Loved it on my LG G5.

 

[pete2106]

I'll happily forgo an OLED screen and a stainless steel band if it makes the phone more affordable. I've been looking to upgrade my 6 Plus for a while now but couldn't justify the obscene price tag of the X.

I would be surprised at it only having one camera though. Don't they need two cameras to do all the AR depth perception? I would have thought that since Apple are going all in on AR, all phones going forward would have two cameras. Unless I'm wrong, maybe it does only need the one camera.

 

[citysnaps]

I would not want to go back to a single lens rear camera, though. Have used the 2X camera on my X more than I expected.

 

[Sheza]

No thanks.

Not clear from the article but it looks like the white subpixel replaces a coloured pixel. This results in a duller colour, as anyone with an LG RGBW television knows.

LG is known for hyping their 'energy saving' white subpixel panels but in reality they struggle to display colour and contrast properly.

 

[DTECHQUE]

I'll happily forgo an OLED screen and a stainless steel band if it makes the phone more affordable. I've been looking to upgrade my 6 Plus for a while now but couldn't justify the obscene price tag of the X.

I would be surprised at it only having one camera though. Don't they need two cameras to do all the AR depth perception? I would have thought that since Apple are going all in on AR, all phones going forward would have two cameras. Unless I'm wrong, maybe it does only need the one camera.

Why didn't you go with the 8 Plus?

 

[pete2106]

Why didn't you go with the 8 Plus?

I was very tempted by the Product Red 8 Plus but I really love the design of the X (Notch and all) so I figured if I waited a bit longer, a better priced version of it would come along.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

whats so much better than oled seems this is better so why not do the flagship with this?

$200-$500+ more per unit helps drive those corporate "record revenues" so many of us love to sling around like we somehow drove them ourselves.

 

[Wide opeN]

Could not give a damn about OLED so I am fine with that I am probably one of the few who do not like those „tint..ish oilfilm“ looking OLED screens at all

Every iPhone X screen that I've seen looks dingy and dirty! Apple has a long way to go before they even get close to the mastery of OLED like Samsung.

Also, 700-800 is still TOO HIGH for these phones. There has to be some reason thrown out here or Apple is going to force me out of their products, at least phones on principle.

 

[DuskRune]

Why didn't you go with the 8 Plus?

I was in the same situation as the poster you quoted. 6 plus, husband had a 6, and they were showing their age. Even after a battery replacement they just weren’t up to snuff considering they are our personal and work phones.

Made the leap for a 8 plus and him an 8. Love them. We used to piggyback upgrades but after the launch of the 6 we just stopped because of less of an incentive. We are gonna probably stick to a 3 year upgrade cycle now.

 

[iReality85]

whats so much better than oled seems this is better so why not do the flagship with this?

I've never understood OLED making sense for small displays like those found in smartphones. While it's exceptional for TVs, OLED can have image retention and smartphone OSes tend to have very static UIs and app icons. OLED is also less bright than LED-LCD (at the moment), and you want as much brightness as you can get for things like phones and tablets which people use outside in broad daylight.

OLED used to have the color gamut advantage, but with quantum dots and other workarounds, LCD can now output the same size gamut (DCI-P3). About the only thing which OLED trumps LCD is black levels, which for a phone isn't really a big deal IMO.

EDIT: Just to be clear, I'm not hating on OLED. I love OLED, and I own an LG C7 TV which is absolutely amazing. OLED is an incredible technology. It's just not suited for certain devices and use cases IMO. For phones at this current time, I'd rather have a non-OLED screen.

 

[Jay42]

I'm interested to see how they handle this because my understanding is that the chin was eliminated by bending the OLED screen back on itself. I don't believe LCD's are capable of this.

 

[Agit21]

3D Touch is useless. I turned it off on my iPhone 7. A long press and hold gets the job done and works 100% of the time.

 

[gezora]

so they convince a bunch of people that the iphone X was the future of smartphones by changing the form, the screen, the authentication system, removing the headphone jack, and charging a premium

and then a year later they remove useless features, change the screen to something even better, and charge $200 less for a better performing phone

 

[PeLaNo]

I'll happily forgo an OLED screen and a stainless steel band if it makes the phone more affordable. I've been looking to upgrade my 6 Plus for a while now but couldn't justify the obscene price tag of the X.

I would be surprised at it only having one camera though. Don't they need two cameras to do all the AR depth perception? I would have thought that since Apple are going all in on AR, all phones going forward would have two cameras. Unless I'm wrong, maybe it does only need the one camera.

Nope. ARKit support iPhone SE 6s 7 and 8 too

 

[PeLaNo]

I'm interested to see how they handle this because my understanding is that the chin was eliminated by bending the OLED screen back on itself. I don't believe LCD's are capable of this.

I think so. How can they blend bezal with screen since LCD can’t have true black.

 

[OldSchoolMacGuy]

This is news, as we were expecting the display to be ultra dull. Ultra bright is great news and totally unexpected.

 

[Scottsoapbox]

I really would be fine with a LCD screen, but don't want a substandard camera which is exactly why Apple will reserve that for the flagship model(s).