A new supply chain report claims that Apple is planning to use OLED for every iPhone model by 2019, with the company expected to adopt OLED panels for 60 million units of the iPhone 8 later in 2017, equating to around 40 percent of its total manufacturing run (via The Bell) [Google Translate]. Apple will double the adoption of OLED panels for the 2018 iPhone before completely migrating over to OLED-only models for 2019.
The same report claimed that both Samsung and Inteflex are currently gearing up production for flexible printed circuit boards (FPCB) for this year's iPhone 8, with Samsung specifically beginning an expansion of its Electro-Mechanics plant in Vietnam to account for the increased Apple supply quota this year.
Apple plans to introduce OLED panels to all iPhone models by 2019. This year's introduction accounted for only 40%, but next year it is expected to double to 80% and 100% next year.
For the 2017 iPhone line, Apple is expected to stick with LCD panels for two of the iPhones -- currently referred to as the "iPhone 7s" and "iPhone 7s Plus" -- while making the "iPhone 8" its first-ever mobile device to include an OLED screen. Today's supply chain report said that Apple will use three suppliers to produce OLED panels, and orders for each will be decided and placed when production is started around April or May.
The iPhone 8 is currently rumored to include an edge-to-edge OLED display with an integrated Touch ID fingerprint sensor embedded within the screen. The OLED display is widely agreed to measure 5.8 inches, while the primary area of user interaction will be 5.15 inches, and below that there will be a "function row." The other two models are believed to keep the same aluminum design of current-model iPhones.
