Rumor: Apple to include curved OLED screen in high-end 2017 iPhone

Apple’s OLED display is said to be due in 2017 and will appear on the premium model.

The rumored OLED unit, which is thought to be coming on the high end of the three next-gen iPhones due next year, is thought to be headed to the 5.5-inch-or-larger unit. The display will be curved at the edges while the other two models are said to be 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch models with flat LCD displays like the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, corroborating previous reports.

The report reiterates that Samsung is expected to be Apple’s primary supplier of OLED displays, but it may be unable to fully keep up with demand for both iPhones and its own Galaxy smartphones. Recognizing the opportunity, Apple manufacturer Foxconn has been developing glass casings and OLED displays over the past year, in hopes of securing orders from its biggest customer next year.

Apple is widely rumored to be transitioning to OLED displays in 2017. The technology provides improved contrast, faster response times, better viewing angles, better power efficiency for typical mixed image content, and other benefits compared to LCD technology.

The rumor corroborates reports from KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who’s said that Apple may launch a next-gen iPhone with a curved 5.8-inch AMOLED display and glass casing in 2017. Kuo’s note focused on three new iPhone models, including LCD-based 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch models and a high-end OLED-based 5.8-inch model, as one possibility providing supply of AMOLED displays is sufficient.

There are also rumors that a 5.8-inch iPhone would allow for an extra 7.25mm of display on each side of the handset that could in fact wrap around the edges of the device. This would run the display from edge to edge, perhaps utilizing side-based gestures and buttons like the Galaxy S7 Edge handset.

Apple was similarly rumored to be developing three iPhone models internally this year, but it reportedly scrapped plans to release a 5.5-inch model with a single-lens camera around six months ago. Apple’s tenth-anniversary iPhone is shaping up to be a more significant upgrade, compared to the relatively incremental refresh expected from this year’s tentatively named iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.

Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

Via MacRumors and Nikkei