iPhone Fold to Pave Way for Thinner, Brighter Display on iPhone Air 2

[MacRumors]

The iPhone Fold will be the first Apple device to adopt a Samsung-made OLED technology called CoE (Color Filter on Encapsulation), which could make the display brighter and thinner than previous panels, reports The Elec.

In a traditional OLED panel, a polarizing film sits above the display to cut reflections and improve contrast. The drawback is that this film also absorbs some of the OLED's own light, reducing brightness and efficiency. With CoE, Apple would remove the polarizer entirely and instead apply the color filter directly onto the OLED's protective encapsulation layer.

The result would be a thinner display stack that lets more light through, delivering higher brightness without requiring more power. Removing layers would also mean less thickness overall, potentially contributing to a slimmer iPhone design.

According to The Elec, Apple plans to debut CoE with its foldable iPhone, which could launch as soon as late 2026, before expanding the technology to the iPhone Air 2 in 2027. The latter's release has reportedly been pushed back following weaker-than-expected sales of the original iPhone Air.

Whether CoE will be applied and whether the iPhone Air 2 will be released will be decided by the third quarter of this year, according to industry sources cited by the Korean-language report.

• iPhone Fold: Launch, Pricing, and What to Expect From Apple's Foldable

Samsung, meanwhile, plans to apply CoE not only to its foldable Galaxy Z Fold and Z Flip models, but also to the Galaxy S26 Ultra, expected in the first quarter of this year. The S26 Ultra will be Samsung's first non-foldable smartphone to use the technology, which the company refers to internally as OCF (On-Cell Film).

Article Link: iPhone Fold to Pave Way for Thinner, Brighter Display on iPhone Air 2

 

[iToph]

Im desperat for a true new experience. Air is my favourite yet, but the fold would float my boat…

 

[Slash787]

Just release a new Mini !

 

[Justin Cymbal]

Hopefully the thinner display allows Apple to put a better quality camera in the iPhone Air going forward as that was one of the main reasons for the disappointing sales for the Air

 

[SilmarilFinder]

Given the Air’s apparently stellar sales performance, I assume Apple’s R&D team will be working overtime to change absolutely nothing. A year or two of quietly trying to recoup tooling costs, then the Air will either be mercy killed, rebranded as something “revolutionary” or magically reinvented as a foldable.

 

[code-m]

Nailed it, the iPhone Air didn’t succeed due to its display not being bright enough. /s

Yes, a thinner display will make the camera better. /s

Why does all of this seems like an effort at grasping at straws?

When one buys an iPhone, their are expecting an “iPhone Experience”, if does not what their are used to then that person is trying very hard to convince themselves otherwise. For those asking what an “iPhone Experience” is? It is what someone is able to do on a phone within its price range without compromises that is comparable to the family of iPhone.

Ask yourself a honest questions, would you pay a pro level price for an iPhone 16e?

 

[Storminbalders]

Hang on? Doesn’t the air have 3000 nits? That’s pretty bright isn’t it? Same as the others in fact!

 

[Onelifenofear]

Given the Air’s apparently stellar sales performance, I assume Apple’s R&D team will be working overtime to change absolutely nothing. A year or two of quietly trying to recoup tooling costs, then the Air will either be mercy killed, rebranded as something “revolutionary” or magically reinvented as a foldable.

The main problem is the Pricing

iPhone $799
Air $999 << Why would I buy this With one camera the cheaper one has 2!
Pro $1099 >> I'll buy this it has 3 cameras and a better battery and it's only 100 more.
Pro Max $1199


iPhone $699 - Make even more basic.
Air $849 < Would have Sold shed loads.
Pro $1099
Pro Max $1199

The main problem with all iphones is the damn camera rings. I've rather have a bigger overall bump and flush lenses.

The air should have been a wedge shape like the actual MacBooK Air. Makes it substantially different to the others and therefore more desirable - And we all saw the comparison to the iphone 6

 

[code-m]

Hang on? Doesn’t the air have 3000 nits? That’s pretty bright isn’t it? Same as the others in fact!

Dontcha know that is what is holding the iPhone Air sales back? /s

 

[code-m]

The main problem is the Pricing

iPhone $799
Air $999 << Why would I buy this With one camera the cheaper one has 2!
Pro $1099 >> I'll buy this it has 3 cameras and a better battery and it's only 100 more.
Pro Max $1199


iPhone $699 - Make even more basic.
Air $849 < Would have Sold shed loads.
Pro $1099
Pro Max $1199

The main problem with all iphones is the damn camera rings. I've rather have a bigger overall bump and flush lenses.

The air should have been a wedge shape like the actual MacBooK Air. Makes it substantially different to the others and therefore more desirable - And we all saw the comparison to the iphone 6

View attachment 2594345

Apple Marketing at its most desperate, it’s thinner than any iPhone made but only throughout 80% of the body volume. No need to look at that growth called the Camera Plateau covering the remaining 20%.

If any other phone manufacturer did this, people would call it deceptive.

 

[tridley68]

Passing on the fold gimmick .

 

[iMac The Knife]

I'm sure all 137 people who are currently waiting for the iPhone Air 2 will be happy to hear this news!

 

[macbookj0e]

Absolutely love my air but to improve sales they just need to make it cheaper. The value proposition v’s the 17 isn’t good as that’s such a solid phone.

 

[Chopper9]

You can just FEEL they're gonna screw this up. Fully expect an under-featured and over-priced finished product.

 

[Chopper9]

The main problem is the Pricing

iPhone $799
Air $999 << Why would I buy this With one camera the cheaper one has 2!
Pro $1099 >> I'll buy this it has 3 cameras and a better battery and it's only 100 more.
Pro Max $1199


iPhone $699 - Make even more basic.
Air $849 < Would have Sold shed loads.
Pro $1099
Pro Max $1199

The main problem with all iphones is the damn camera rings. I've rather have a bigger overall bump and flush lenses.

The air should have been a wedge shape like the actual MacBooK Air. Makes it substantially different to the others and therefore more desirable - And we all saw the comparison to the iphone 6

I don't think you're wrong on the pricing - but thinness on an iPhone is such a dated and meaningless "feature" anymore. There hasn't been a need for a "thinner" phone in 10 years; they're all thin. Who cares if it's slightly a little thinner, especially when you have less battery life, not as good cameras, features, etc. THIS is why it failed - combined with the unjustified high price. Once a phone is in your hand, who cares if its 5, 6, 8, 10mm.... they all take up the same space in your hand and pocket. Silly.

 

[Robert.Walter]

iPhone Air 26 is Apple’s production proof of concept for battery maximum within package that will carry forward into the iPhone Fold. The Fold will both draw from the Air 26 and share with the next Air.

 

[Robert.Walter]

I don't think you're wrong on the pricing - but thinness on an iPhone is such a dated and meaningless "feature" anymore. There hasn't been a need for a "thinner" phone in 10 years, they'll all thin. Who cares if it's slightly a little thinner, especially when you have less battery life, not as good cameras, features, etc. THIS is why it failed - combined with the unjustified high price. Once a phone is in your hands, who cares if its 5, 6, 8, 10mm.... they all take up the same space in your hand and pocket. Silly.

The reason for the thinness is to prime the industrial system for the fold.

When you fold and double the thickness, it’s essential to have basic thinness under control for production.

 

[AlanMarron]

Nailed it, the iPhone Air didn’t succeed due to its display not being bright enough. /s

Yes, a thinner display will make the camera better. /s

Why does all of this seems like an effort at grasping at straws?

When one buys an iPhone, their are expecting an “iPhone Experience”, if does not what their are used to then that person is trying very hard to convince themselves otherwise. For those asking what an “iPhone Experience” is? It is what someone is able to do on a phone within its price range without compromises that is comparable to the family of iPhone.

Ask yourself a honest questions, would you pay a pro level price for an iPhone 16e?

As an iPhone user since v1, there was one iPhone until the 5, then the Max split, then the 8/x differentiation.

Now, it’s primarily about the cameras.

Truth in Labeling would be 17 vs 17-telephoto.

(My wife has a 16e and I’m impressed with the Fusion Camera.)

 

[CarAnalogy]

The main problem is the Pricing

iPhone $799
Air $999 << Why would I buy this With one camera the cheaper one has 2!
Pro $1099 >> I'll buy this it has 3 cameras and a better battery and it's only 100 more.
Pro Max $1199


iPhone $699 - Make even more basic.
Air $849 < Would have Sold shed loads.
Pro $1099
Pro Max $1199

The main problem with all iphones is the damn camera rings. I've rather have a bigger overall bump and flush lenses.

The air should have been a wedge shape like the actual MacBooK Air. Makes it substantially different to the others and therefore more desirable - And we all saw the comparison to the iphone 6

View attachment 2594345

And don't forget now they have to justify an e model in there somewhere as well. Too many iPhones, especially now that they finally made the base model an all around good choice for most people.

 

[bluespark]

Hopefully the thinner display allows Apple to put a better quality camera in the iPhone Air going forward as that was one of the main reasons for the disappointing sales for the Air

The Air camera is great. Did you instead mean a second camera for the Air?

 

[nottorp]

I'd like less brightness, not more. So I can read in bed with the lights off without feeling blinded.

 

[Plerf]

If they release an iPhone Air 2 with the more squarish front like the folding iPhone, I’m in.

Phones are too skinny for web use in portrait and too short for web use in landscape.

 

[Hkfan45]

I predict a flop just like the Air. People want battery life not thinness. Also, what is the point of larger screen real estate if the OS can’t make maximum use of it. We absolutely need pro-level multitasking — something much closer to OS X.

 

[bluespark]

Nailed it, the iPhone Air didn’t succeed due to its display not being bright enough. /s

Yes, a thinner display will make the camera better. /s

Why does all of this seems like an effort at grasping at straws?

When one buys an iPhone, their are expecting an “iPhone Experience”, if does not what their are used to then that person is trying very hard to convince themselves otherwise. For those asking what an “iPhone Experience” is? It is what someone is able to do on a phone within its price range without compromises that is comparable to the family of iPhone.

Ask yourself a honest questions, would you pay a pro level price for an iPhone 16e?

I'm not the person you're asking, but I've said before that I would pay fully twice as much as a Pro costs for the Air. It's that good, if you're not one who needs the particular extra features the Pro offers.

 

[The Game 161]

i think the 2nd camera will help air 2 sales most likely. 2nd speaker would help too.

That said i really like the air form factor. wouldn't use it as my only phone but love having it.