Apple will no longer be completely reliant on Samsung for OLED displays

[Greg S]

In context: Samsung Electronics was the sole supplier of OLED panels to Apple for the iPhone X. Critics commonly referenced that Samsung caused Apple to raise the price on its flagship phone. Now, LG is going to generate a little competition.

One of the reasons commonly cited for the outrageous cost of the iPhone X has been the pricing on OLED displays sourced from Samsung Electronics. Now, Apple is in the final stages of negotiation with LG Display to secure production of two to four million displays.

Considering Apple's expected sales could be in the hundreds of millions, LG will only be providing a very small percentage of displays. However, this small chunk could offer the leverage Apple needs to get Samsung to significantly reduce pricing on the expensive OLED panels.

Both LG and Apple stand to benefit from reaching an agreement. LG could gain the capital needed to ramp up production and be a real competitor to Samsung once again. LG's liquid crystal displays are no longer selling for as much now that OLED has proven its superiority in many aspects. Apple could reduce the cost of its next generation iPhones without losing any of its already large profit margins.

According to Bloomberg sources, LG will be supplying OLED displays for at least one model of iPhone that will be launching in September. LG would like to be the exclusive supplier for a single iPhone model, although it is unlikely that LG actually has the production capabilities to do so at the current time.

In addition to LG, Apple is also looking to China's BOE Technology Group to procure OLED displays for smartphones. As tech companies routinely face difficulty in receiving government approval to do business in China, making use of a local supplier for major components would almost certainly keep relations amicable.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/75286-apple-no-longer-completely-reliant-samsung-oled-displays.html

 

[MilwaukeeMike]

LG would like to be the exclusive supplier for a single iPhone model

LG is the supplier for the ill-fated Pixel 2 XL OLED display - with many phones having terrible blue shift at any sort of viewing angle and poor colors.

If they aren't the exclusive supplier for a single-model Apple will be dealing with the risk of some bad LG panels causing an online fiasco as people post pictures of their faulty iphones, while others say 'I've got the same model and mine looks fine'

 

[ghostf1re]

LG would like to be the exclusive supplier for a single iPhone model

LG is the supplier for the ill-fated Pixel 2 XL OLED display - with many phones having terrible blue shift at any sort of viewing angle and poor colors.

If they aren't the exclusive supplier for a single-model Apple will be dealing with the risk of some bad LG panels causing an online fiasco as people post pictures of their faulty iphones, while others say 'I've got the same model and mine looks fine'

Yeah I wouldn't be too excited for this for this very reason. I almost bought a Pixel 2 XL and the only reason I didn't was because I wanted to wait for reviews. Thank god I did. Failing to produce a good screen ruins the entire experience with the phone. Also for the price, no thanks if I have to have a garbage screen. Also I'm an iPhone user (at the moment) because most of my family is and it's just easier to be in the same ecosystem for Facetime and what not. I refuse to upgrade to any future iPhones that cost $1000. It's simply not happening. No phone is worth that price. Until it can completely replace my computer, I'm not paying that much for a phone.