Samsung to Supply Apple With OLED Display Panels Starting in 2017

[pmau]

Apple is still heavily investing in LCDs. Switching to OLED means they have to reimplement many recent features they added to iOS devices like 3D Touch, Apple Pencil Support, True Tone Display, Variable Refresh Rate, etc... Plus there is still the OLED burn in issue.

Let's see what really happens...

YES!

OLED cannot be calibrated, the color temperature changes depending on brightness and the already mentioned technical difficulties of OLED. I don't really care about these (lifetime, burn-in, etc.) because the product cycle is way too short.

LCD are a proven technology that still gets better over time. Switching an active light source (OLED) on and off at high frequencies is far more complicated than triggering an LC.

I like OLED for small devices, like the Apple Watch or small Info panels on devices, but a full-sitze LCD is still a great experience.

(My opinion)

 

[Col4bin]

Back on the day I got pretty bad screen burn in on my Nexus One at the top notification bar, I hope the newer OLED panels Apple gets can avoid this issue. Would hate to have to worry about my app icons burned into the screen

Been using a Nexus 6 for almost two years now that has a Samsung Super AMOLED display. Not sure how this type of screen will differ from what will be used in an upcoming iPhone, but happy to report that I've had absolutely zero issues or burn-in with my Nexus 6. Plus the Nexus screen itself blows away the screen on my iPhone 6 Plus.
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10 year anniversary for iPhone I guess calls for something special

From what I've been reading, to heck with the iPhone 7 apparently. Seems more and more like this Fall's model should be called the iPhone 6SS.
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I like OLED but I dont think most people will notice or care. And I hope Apple keeps the current resolution and not join the silly spec race because the upside is unnoticeable but it's a serious drag on performance.

Disagree. OLED colors tend to be brighter, richer and the blacks blacker than what iPhone's current LCD screen tech can produce. Just do a side by side comparison. Assuming that any burn-in issues are dealt with, the move to OLED or AMOLED will be a great move for Apple. (And hopefully rid itself of the need for those giant eyesore bezels.)

 

[BvizioN]

As far as I can recall, I have NEVER purchased one Samsung product ever.

I'm just amused by anything Samsung develops, makes, sells.

Quite remarkable you have resisted on buying products of a company from which you are clearly so amused.

As for Galaxy S7, I admit, I love the design and display much more then the iP6s. But that's pretty much it. SD card, wireless charging, low light camera, waterproof etc.... mean j*sh to me personally (maybe the low light camera but since I use mirrorless full frame camera myself, not a big deal) The micro SD card may seem tempting but I have heard a lot of stories about the memory card being corrupted and loosing everything. Not saying the option of having one is not good, just saying personally I would rather pay more and have something I can rely on.
By the way, when I say love a company I think it should have been apparent that I mean't love what they do. And It's not only Apple, it is quite few companies that I find their products very exciting. Like Sony, Canon, DJI, etc.

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I tend to agree, is OLED somehow more... HD-ish, or clearer? I'm pretty sure OLED is better at power management, color saturation, brighter white and deeper blacks right? But what would be the trade-off in terms of overall life-span? And would one notice the changes that much?

Kal.

From what I have seen, It looks more appealing with more vivid colors and stuff that you have mentioned. Some people say it is prone to burns. Not sure if and how accurate that is. Maybe it have advanced enough now to overpass that issue.

 

[pmau]

To calibrate OLED displays, the device has to maintain a setting for each pixel to compensate for differences
in luminance across the whole screen.

Read this article to the end.

http://www.radiantvisionsystems.com...-colorimeters-improve-oled-display-production

If you try to calibrate using only a small sensor attached to the screen you might even make your color profile worse.

Manufacturers only calibrate large and expensive displays.
I highly doubt that millions of cheap phones with high margin have that requirement.

You might like popping colours, this might be a generational thing.
I certainly prefer a good LCD over any OLED screen except for small devices.
There I simply do not care.

 

[Seanthesheep]

Hmm there seems to be increasing evidence that 2017 will see a major upgrade to the iPhone specs and design.

Most likely to celebrate the iPhone 10th anniversary and who knows Apple may now prefer a major redesign every 3 years, rather than the usual 2 years. Meaning this year may see minor updates to the iPhone.

Either way I think I'll hold on to my iPhone 6 until next year as I'm pretty happy with it as it is.

 

[TheRealAlex]

Samsung Display Co. will begin supplying Apple with OLED display panels starting in 2017, reports The Korea Herald. According to the terms of the deal, which is worth $2.59 billion, Samsung will provide Apple with 100 million units of 5.5-inch OLED panels on an annual basis.

OLED panels eliminate the need for the backlighting used in traditional LCDs, potentially allowing Apple to cut down on the thickness and bezels of its iOS devices. OLED displays can also provide sharper images and brighter colors than LCD displays, but higher manufacturing costs and shorter lifespans are obstacles that Apple will need to overcome.

Rumors suggesting Apple and Samsung were close to establishing a partnership for OLED panels first surfaced in January, when Reuters reported Apple was seeking deals with both Samsung and LG Display. Later rumors indicated Samsung plans to invest up to $7.47 billion in OLED manufacturing equipment to fulfill orders for Apple. Apple may also plan to source additional panels from LG Display, AU Optronics, or Japan Display, three other display companies it has pursued deals with.

Early rumors said Apple would adopt OLED displays in 2018, but more recent information suggests that timeline has been pushed up. Apple is now rumored to be aiming to introduce the first iPhones with OLED displays in 2017.

A rumor from reliable KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and information from DigiTimes have suggested Apple plans to use 5.8-inch OLED displays for the larger-screened iPhone in 2017, perhaps for a wraparound display paired with a curved glass casing, but this information does not match up with today's report suggesting Apple has signed a deal for 5.5-inch panels.

According to Kuo, the 2017 iPhone will see a major design overhaul, which, if true, would see Apple breaking away from its traditional two-year upgrade cycle that includes a major redesign followed by a more minor internal update. Under that upgrade cycle, the 2016 iPhone would be the phone seeing a redesign, while the 2017 iPhone would feature the same design introduced in 2016.

Instead, Kuo believes 2017 will see Apple introducing a glass-backed device that includes wireless charging and biometric recognitions along with the aforementioned curved glass display and curved casing.

Article Link: Samsung to Supply Apple With OLED Display Panels Starting in 2017

So in other Words In all that is holy SkIP the 2016 New iPhone.

Or just buy a Samsung Note 5 or 6 it's essentially an iPhone Pro

I personally call it an iPad Pro Mini watch.

 

[Jimrod]

Manufacturers only calibrate large and expensive displays.
I highly doubt that millions of cheap phones with high margin have that requirement.

You might like popping colours, this might be a generational thing.
I certainly prefer a good LCD over any OLED screen except for small devices.
There I simply do not care.

It's comments like this that put me off the Apple fanboy community, having owned iPhones and iPads since the 3G, it's biased and factually wrong, just like saying "Electric cars suck", "CRT is way better than Plasma" etc... Times change, keep up.

iPhone 6 display colour accuracy: http://www.displaymate.com/Colors_23.html

vs

Samsung Galaxy S7: http://www.displaymate.com/Colors_34.html

The iPhone is "good" but the OLED on the newer Samsung phones is better - more accurate.

Quote:
"The Galaxy S7 matches or breaks new records in Smartphone display performance for:

Highest Absolute Color Accuracy (1.5 JNCD), Highest Peak Brightness (855 nits), Highest Contrast Rating in Ambient Light (186), Highest Screen Resolution (2560x1440), Highest (infinite) Contrast Ratio, and Smallest Brightness Variation with Viewing Angle (28 percent). In addition, almost every display lab test and measurement shows some improvements compared to the Galaxy S6. See the main Display Shoot-Out Comparison Table for all of the measurements and details."

 

[recoil80]

Hmm there seems to be increasing evidence that 2017 will see a major upgrade to the iPhone specs and design.

Most likely to celebrate the iPhone 10th anniversary and who knows Apple may now prefer a major redesign every 3 years, rather than the usual 2 years. Meaning this year may see minor updates to the iPhone.

Either way I think I'll hold on to my iPhone 6 until next year as I'm pretty happy with it as it is.

Apple will stick to the tick-tock model for iPhones since the iPhone upgrade program lasts 24 months and may carriers offer the phone on 2 years contract.
They may redesign completely the product every 4 years instead of 2. iPhone 4 and 4s had 3.5'' retina, 5 and 5s 4'', now we have 4.7 and 5.5 and I don't think they'll continue to change the screen size every other year in the future so we can expect enhancements in the camera module and in the SoC but smartphones are becoming a mature kind of product, they cannot reinvent the wheel every year

 

[NT1440]

So in other Words In all that is holy SkIP the 2016 New iPhone.

Or just buy a Samsung Note 5 or 6 it's essentially an iPhone Pro

I personally call it an iPad Pro Mini watch.

I honestly had no idea that a cell phone consists only of a screen technology. That's really amazing that they've been lying to us about software and processors for so ling.

 

[nia820]

I wish it was for 2016 instead. Samsung's displays are some of the best in the industry. That is probably one of the biggest things I miss about my galaxy s6.

And people need to stop this nonsense about burn ins. This isn't 2010 anymore. I've owned 5 Samsung phones and never had an issue with burn ins.

 

[applezulu]

There it is again. Ming-Chi Kuo has to be called "reliable" when cited. None of the other sources in this article get any hype, but Kuo does, even though the rest of the info in the article suggests that Kuo is wrong, and thus not so "reliable." I'm beginning to think that these websites must get some kind of compensation in return for their promotional considerations of Ming-Chi Kuo.

 

[LordQ]

Am I the only one who noticed "5.5" only"? This fragmentation with the iPhone lineup is going to be a joke.

 

[morcutt11]

Apple fanboys now: "OLED is a gimmick! It's so inefficient! The lifetime sucks! LCD is better! Accurate colors are important!"

Apple fanboys in 2017: "OLED is amazing! It's soooo much better! The colors are amazing! The contrasts are amazing! Apple is innovating once again!"

Samsung fanboys before: "64 bit processing is just a gimmick. It isn't needed on a mobile device. There are no apps that could make use of this. It is only needed for high-end processing that wouldn't be done on a mobile device."

Samsung fanboys now: "64 bit processing is finally here and it's incredible. Apps are so much faster now. You can do so much more like 4k video editing right from your phone. All apps need to switch to using 64 bit."

 

[navaira]

There it is again. Ming-Chi Kuo has to be called "reliable" when cited. None of the other sources in this article get any hype, but Kuo does, even though the rest of the info in the article suggests that Kuo is wrong, and thus not so "reliable." I'm beginning to think that these websites must get some kind of compensation in return for their promotional considerations of Ming-Chi Kuo.

I think it's humour. "Highly esteemed analyst", "generally reliable analyst", "well known analyst" always makes me chuckle a bit.

 

[itsamacthing]

I saw the Samsung S7 Edge today, hony jazebus that is a sweet display and interesting phone, lots of innovative tech including this fast charge feature. Shame it runs Android, altho it did seem like there were a ton more options there to play with

 

[jedifaka]

Well, yeah. That's how this thing works and it's why I enjoy this site so much.

Whatever technology my stuff lacks is useless and gimmicky. When that technology finally makes it into the stuff I buy, it's because formerly useless and gimmicky tech is now mature and just done better. Now, if my stuff gets a feature first, that feature is an innovation and your stuff is crude and outdated. The mental gymnastics required to maintain a, "this is entirely good without exception and that is always and in every way bad," perspective on any topic are a delight.

If there were a site anywhere in the world where objective, thoughtful humans respectfully exchanged reasoned opinions, I'd probably still lurk here instead.

I of course presume now, all the Samsung and OLED screen haters (of which there are LOTS here) are now going to post how they will not be buying such a device?
There has been SO MANY OLED screen haters on these forums, for so long. I presume you are going to stick by your views, and not suddenly and magically decide, out of the blue you like OLED now, simply because Apple has finally decided to use them?

 

[DaveOP]

The OLED display used in the Apple Watch already has 3D Touch (Force Touch).

That is not entirely true. Notice, the Watch is only force sensitive across the entire screen, not in very specific areas like the iPhone display. Its not hard to put a sensor behind an entire display just to see if it's getting pressure. It's an entirely different animal to be able to detect, within very close accuracy, WHICH part of the screen is getting pressed. This is why they used different names for the technology.

 

[Vanilla35]

Apple is still heavily investing in LCDs. Switching to OLED means they have to reimplement many recent features they added to iOS devices like 3D Touch, Apple Pencil Support, True Tone Display, Variable Refresh Rate, etc... Plus there is still the OLED burn in issue.

Let's see what really happens...

Those features (especially True Tone Display, which is a sensor not related to the display - like an ambient sensor) are not dependent on LCD, they're just dependent on a display. They can be implemented on OLED as well, it'll just take them a bit of time to fit it all together since OLED does not require the backlight and is configured slightly differently.

If they had changed to OLED with the 6S they would have been able to prevent the phone from getting so chunky when compared to the 6.

Apple is accepting OLED, so sooner or later they will need to switch, and that will require changes to be made internally, it has nothing to do with investments. Apple will burn as much money as possible to provide 1-2 features in order to make any new iPhone model appear to be an upgrade and continue sales growth.
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Apple's threats, attacks and other menacing behavior towards Samsung has failed to hurt them. They remain professional, businesslike and continue to enhance the products Apple sells.

 

[StoneJack]

No. Sharp and Foxconn will be main suppliers.
Korea Herald is wrong.

 

[Vanilla35]

Am I the only one who noticed "5.5" only"? This fragmentation with the iPhone lineup is going to be a joke.

Already been known from 2-3 previous leaks about this same information. Supposedly related to lack of supply for the 4.7 inch model since they are just getting into it now. The joke is alive and well though already in macrumors forums. Cheers
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No. Sharp and Foxconn will be main suppliers.
Korea Herald is wrong.

Sharp for LCD, Samsung for OLED?

 

[applezulu]

I think it's humour. "Highly esteemed analyst", "generally reliable analyst", "well known analyst" always makes me chuckle a bit.

I see the humor and you see the humor, but I don't think the people who write this stuff do. It happens with such regularity (or maybe I should say "reliability") not only here, but also on other sites, I really do wonder if there might be some sort of payola involved.

 

[igorsky]

Not a surprise. Samsung and Apple might look they fight to the public eye, but they have been in bed with each other for many years.

I think we can agree that one thing has nothing to do with the other.
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Apple's threats, attacks and other menacing behavior towards Samsung has failed to hurt them. They remain professional, businesslike and continue to enhance the products Apple sells.

So did I miss the thread where you were outed as a Samsung employee?
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Go to an Apple Store and listen to people who talk about iMacs. Most of them wouldn't know what a retina is if it struck them in the face, but they know that "OMG this is SO PRETTY". When we bought the 2011 iMac my fiance kept on going about "my photos look SO GOOD on this". He has no idea what a 5400rpm hard drive is or what processor is inside, but he can see that the screen is miles away from whatever crap he had on his Windows machine previously.

Or just read the threads about how MBA has a terrible screen and rMB with its Core M looks so much better and "I could never go back to that terrible non-retina screen".

For the same reason I honestly think a rose gold iMac would sell very well.

Anectodal evidence can't really be considered a "source".

 

[nia820]

Bring on iOS 11 dark theme!

I was thinking the same thing. iOS would look stunning with a dark theme and it will be easier on the eyes.

 

[Recognition]

That is not entirely true. Notice, the Watch is only force sensitive across the entire screen, not in very specific areas like the iPhone display. Its not hard to put a sensor behind an entire display just to see if it's getting pressure. It's an entirely different animal to be able to detect, within very close accuracy, WHICH part of the screen is getting pressed. This is why they used different names for the technology.

But doesn't the screen already know precisely which part of the screen is being pressed as you are touching it after all...?

 

[co.ag.2005]

So in other Words In all that is holy SkIP the 2016 New iPhone.

Or just buy a Samsung Note 5 or 6 it's essentially an iPhone Pro

I personally call it an iPad Pro Mini watch.

while the note 5 is a great phone with a gorgeous screen (I owned one for 2 weeks when it first came out), Apple's iteration of an OLED screened phone would still run iOS, not touchwiz, which is one of the main reasons people prefer iPhone to Samsung Android phones.