I have owned and continue to own and use a fair number of products from both Samsung and Apple. Tablets and phones, both. Current and dated. I am also quite OCD and technically adept when it comes to displays.
The good...
OLED works well when temperatures are managed, brightness is limited, and run-time is limited. And it is capable, when used appropriately, to greatly reduce power consumption. Thus, as an example, the Apple watch was a perfect use case. Rarely full-screen images, low run time, thermally coupled to your skin. Ideal use of the tech. In contrast to the LCD-based Moto 360, it was a land-slide win for the Apple's screen and its battery life.
The bad...
Phones are another story. While many will not, many people run their phones in hot conditions, store them in enclosed places, run the brightness on the high side, and/or run the screen hours each day. This means many people will experience screen burn on these new Apple phones. Some subtle, some drastic. You can mostly mitigate this as a careful user, but that is definitely a step backwards. Additionally, Apple usually specs their displays to target the sRGB color space with great accuracy. For better or for worse, this is the default color space that web content targets. I have used and seen only one Samsung product with a decently faithful sRGB spectrum - the Galaxy Tab S 10.5" set in "basic" mode. This gives me great concern about the overall experience. I don't care that my Apple watch has inaccurate web/content colors, but I do care on my phone.
The impact...
The main thing, IMO, is I still regularly see OLEDs on top-tier phones only months old with aggressive burn, but I have several 3+ year old tablets with healthy OLED, burn-free panels. If Apple is to avoid the issues with OLED, they will need to work very close with Samsung, and also aggressively manage the displays. Including limiting peak brightness available to users, dimming if/when the phone is too warm, overhauling UI for OLED-friendlyness, etc.. Even if they are successful, the overall experience will be greatly impacted. Only die-hard fans of OLED's indoors screen contrast and their particular color curve should be happy. Everyone else should stick to the LCD models. Personally, I'm happy with OLED in the watches, content but not thrilled in the tablet realm, and quite annoyed in the phone space. Use the right tech in the right places. Some people put heavy duty batteries in high-drain devices "because they're cheaper", others put alkaline batteries in remote controls that sit unused most of the time "because Duracells are the best", but both of these groups are delusional. You don't use a hammer to put air in your car's tires. OLED does have strengths, LED does have strengths. Use them where appropriate and we all win.
Greg
