iPhone 12 Rumors: Samsung Supplying 180-200 Million OLED Panels For 2018's Lineup

Apple will receive between 180 to 200 million OLED panels from Samsung for its 2018 iPhone lineup, according to Wednesday report by The Investor.

The number is much higher than this year’s order. Apple reportedly placed an order of about 50 million OLED panels from Samsung Display for the iPhone X. The recently-released iPhone sports and edge-to-edge OLED display, and is the only Apple smartphone that features that type of screen.

The report points to improved yield rates at Samsung’s A3 panel production lines. Earlier this year, the rate was about 60 percent, going up to 80 percent afterwards. A 90 percent yield rate means Samsung can pump out 224 million 6-inch OLED panels per year.

“It looks like the yield rates have reached almost 90 percent, and the fact that Samsung reached such levels even after the world’s highest quality flexible OLED standards were applied, is quite significant,” an industry watcher told the Investor.

The OLED displays supplied by Samsung could go towards the rumored “iPhone X Plus,” a bigger version of the smartphone released in November. Apple is rumored to launch the Plus version of the iPhone X in 2018. The Cupertino company is expected to release three iPhones next year, including a 5.8-inch model and 6.5-inch iPhone with OLED displays. The third 6.1-inch iPhone is expected to sport an LCD display, according to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

Other rumors have pointed to OLED displays. A report in July said Apple was planning to use OLED displays on all new models released from mid-2018 and on. In May, a report said Apple signed a deal with Samsung for OLED panels for next year’s iPhone.

2018 iPhone Lineup Rumors

The 2018 iPhones are expected to include features seen on the iPhone X. Next year’s iPhones are rumored to come with an edge-to-edge screen and top notch, as well as the TrueDepth camera system. The TrueDepth camera supports the Face ID and Animoji on the iPhone X.

At first, it was believed Apple would include a TrueDepth camera on the back of 2018 iPhones, but Kuo said that might not happen. The analyst said the iPhone X’s 3D sensing technology is already at least one year ahead of Android rivals, which means the Cupertino giant will instead focus on having a good supply for launches. Apple reportedly had trouble with the iPhone X’s short supply this year when it was first released.

While Apple fans might not see a rear TrueDepth camera, Kuo says the devices will still come with other advancements that will draw in customers. A report earlier this month said next year’s iPhones will include improved batteries. The iPhone X comes with an L-shaped battery structure. Next year, Apple will boost the size of the batteries inside the iPhones, Kuo predicts. The 5.8-inch iPhone could have battery capacity between 2,900mAh and 3,000mAh, higher than the current 2,716mAh battery.