Samsung to Capitalize on First OLED-Based iPhone in 2017

Samsung Display will remain the global leader among AMOLED display suppliers over the next few years, with shipments estimated to increase to 560 million units by 2019, according to Taiwan-based DigiTimes Research.

Galaxy-S7-iPhone-6s
Samsung Electronics, which produces the company's lineup of Android-based Galaxy smartphones, is expected to remain Samsung Display's largest customer over the next few years, with its in-house AMOLED panel demand projected to grow from 239 million units in 2016 to 290 million units in 2019.

Apple is rumored to release its first OLED-based iPhone in 2017, moving away from traditional LCD technology it has used since 2007 for at least one iPhone model. The report estimates that Samsung Display will supply Apple with 40 million AMOLED panels in 2017, 80 million units in 2018, and 120 million units in 2019.

LG Display, AU Optronics, Japan Display, and Foxconn-owned Sharp may also share production of OLED panels for future iPhones.

Earlier this year, DisplayMate found that Samsung's Galaxy S7 makes a compelling case for Apple to switch to OLED display technology. Possible benefits include increased brightness, improved color accuracy, improved screen visibility in bright environments, and more efficient power consumption.

A number of China-based smartphone vendors, including Vivo, Oppo, GiONEE, Huawei, and Lenovo, have also adopted or decided to adopt AMOLED panels in the future, with Samsung Display's combined shipments to them projected to increase from 99 million units in 2016 to 150 million units in 2019.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

maxresdefault

Apple Shows Off a Key Reason to Upgrade to the iPhone 17

Saturday February 7, 2026 9:26 am PST by
Apple today shared an ad that shows how the upgraded Center Stage front camera on the latest iPhones improves the process of taking a group selfie. "Watch how the new front facing camera on iPhone 17 Pro takes group selfies that automatically expand and rotate as more people come into frame," says Apple. While the ad is focused on the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, the regular iPhone...
Finder Siri Feature

Why Apple's iOS 26.4 Siri Upgrade Will Be Bigger Than Originally Promised

Friday February 6, 2026 3:06 pm PST by
In the iOS 26.4 update that's coming this spring, Apple will introduce a new version of Siri that's going to overhaul how we interact with the personal assistant and what it's able to do. The iOS 26.4 version of Siri won't work like ChatGPT or Claude, but it will rely on large language models (LLMs) and has been updated from the ground up. Upgraded Architecture The next-generation...
wwdc sans text feature

Apple Rumored to Announce New Product on February 19

Thursday February 5, 2026 12:22 pm PST by
Apple plans to announce the iPhone 17e on Thursday, February 19, according to Macwelt, the German equivalent of Macworld. The report, citing industry sources, is available in English on Macworld. Apple announced the iPhone 16e on Wednesday, February 19 last year, so the iPhone 17e would be unveiled exactly one year later if this rumor is accurate. It is quite uncommon for Apple to unveil...
apple wallet drivers license feature iPhone 15 pro

Apple Says These 7 U.S. States Plan to Offer iPhone Driver's Licenses

Monday February 9, 2026 6:24 am PST by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Apple Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, and then use it to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. The feature is currently available in 13 U.S. states and Puerto Rico, and it is expected to launch in at least seven more in the future. To set up the...
14 inch MacBook Pro Keyboard

New MacBook Pros Could Now Arrive in March

Sunday February 8, 2026 6:02 am PST by
New MacBook Pro models with the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips could arrive as soon as Monday, March 2, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In today's "Power On" newsletter, Gurman said that the release of new MacBook Pro models is tied to the release of macOS Tahoe 26.3. The launch is said to be slated for as early as the week of March 2. He added that the M4 Pro and M4 Max models on sale today...

Top Rated Comments

iHack13 Avatar
126 months ago
APPLE! PULL YOUR BLOODY TROUSERS UP AND PACK THE NEXT BLOODY PHONE WITH EVERYTHING YOU CAN THINK OF. DAMMIT!
Hi,

Apple Engineer speaking here. We are working on it and we will not disappoint you. As a first step we are going to put 2GB RAM into this beast. And its going to be thinner too!

/s
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Zwhaler Avatar
126 months ago
Wouldn't it be cool if Apple dropped that new iPhone this year. I'm not holding my breath, though.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Tinmania Avatar
126 months ago
They also have drawbacks like color degradation over time due to breakdown of the organic materials at different rates for each color of LED. I suspect Apple will only switch to AMOLED once the problems have been eliminated (or reduced to a manageable level).
In other news my nearly four-year-old Note 2's display looks as it did on day-one. I used it for two years straight before buying a Note 4, then as a backup as I used the Note 4 and now an iPhone 6S Plus. In some ways I prefer its display to my 6S Plus.

Considering my Note 2 came out in 2012, and much progress has been made since then, you will have to excuse me if I think your comment is just a bunch of sour grapes.



Mike
[doublepost=1467217680][/doublepost]
As long as they do something about the colour on those amoled displays, Samsung phones look horrifically oversaturated.
Yet the average person prefers the "pop" of those displays. But it can very easily be changed to your preference of "dull" but "more realistic" in just a few seconds. The point is it is a setting, not set in stone. The display itself is far better than what is currently in the iPhone. And I own an iPhone 6S Plus.



Mike
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
gaximus Avatar
126 months ago
They also have drawbacks like color degradation over time due to breakdown of the organic materials at different rates for each color of LED. I suspect Apple will only switch to AMOLED once the problems have been eliminated (or reduced to a manageable level).
Most problems have already been eliminated. http://www.oled-a.org/images/pdfs/OLED%20Myths.pdf
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BootsWalking Avatar
126 months ago
Every time there is an OLED story the same, stale, anti-OLED arguments get thrown about. There's almost a willful ignorance by some to how technology has progressed. No wonder Apple has been able to get by with so little innovation on the hardware side.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
_mdavenport Avatar
126 months ago
Wouldn't it be cool if Apple dropped that new iPhone this year. I'm not holding my breath, though.
Dropping an all-glass iPhone sounds like a bad idea ;)
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)