Following respected analyst Ming-Chi Kuo’s prediction that OLED displays will make it into the iPhone line starting next year, Sharp President Tai Jeng-wu has reportedly just hinted the same.
Jeng-wu, the head of Japanese electronics manufacturer and iPhone screen supplier Sharp, told students at his alma mater, Tatung University, that Apple’s smartphone “has been evolving and now it is switching from LTPS (low-temperature poly-silicon) to OLED panels”.
Uttering these words at a ceremony where he was collecting an honorary doctorate degree, Jeng-wu did not elaborate on when exactly OLED panels will start appearing in iPhones, reports Nikkei Asian Review. However, his quoted wording suggests that at least one model of next year’s “iPhone 8” will so benefit.
This seems especially likely given Jeng-wu’s admission that Sharp, which is owned by major Apple supplier Foxconn, would be willing to use its US-located OLED manufacturing facilities to serve Apple. Nonetheless, Nikkei claims that, of iPhone 8 models spanning three different screen sizes, only the 5.5-inch variant will get a curved OLED screen, which should be able to show sharper color contrast than the current LTPS displays.
In March, Kuo predicted that OLED displays would feature in a new 5.8-inch iPhone that could replace the 5.5-inch model. However, Nikkei’s much more recent claim that 5.5-, 5- and 4.7-inch models are all on the way suggests that Apple’s plans might have changed since then.
