Apple wants to introduce organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays for iPhones from 2018, the Nikkei reported, citing Apple suppliers. In light of the decision, LG Display has already started planning capacity upgrades. As securing enough panels for the more than 200 million phones Apples ships globally every year will probably be difficult, the company will probably offer OLED iPhones alongside those using LCD screens.
The company will also have to contend with technical challenges. The brightness, energy-saving capacity and other functions of OLED panels tend to degrade over time. Apple has begun consulting with display makers and their suppliers of manufacturing equipment about the technology. The companies will work over the next year or so to see whether those drawbacks can be eliminated and a stable supply of screens secured.
LG Display plans to add a new large-scale line for OLED panel production at its main plant in the northwestern city of Paju. The expansion is projected to cost KRW 1.84 trillion, and production will start in the first half of 2018. Separately, the company had already announced it would invest KRW 1.05 trillion (USD 927 million) in a new smaller-scale line at its factory in the southern city of Gumi.
Samsung Electronics is currently the only company that can reliably mass-produce OLED smartphone screens. LG Display has a track record for producing OLEDs for television screens. Given this, the two companies will likely supply a large portion of Apple's displays.
Apple's shift to OLED displays will have major implications for two Japanese suppliers, namely Sharp, which is scrambling to rebuild its faltering operations, and Japan Display, which relies on Apple for 30 percent of its business.
