It’s no longer a question of if or who, but rather how many and how much. As in, how many of Apple’s three expected 2017 iPhone variants will sport OLED screens, how much will they cost, and how many sharp and bright displays will Samsung need to supply to its bitter rival/occasional ally?
Technically, it’s way too early to be certain of answers to any of those questions, although reliable insiders, tipsters and publications claim to know almost everything Cupertino has in store for the iPhone 8, aka X, as well as the 7s and 7s Plus.
Clearly, the names are far from confirmed, but it’s looking more and more likely all three next-gens will make the long overdue switch from LCD to OLED panel technology. LG and Sharp may have little to no involvement in this production process after all, as Samsung just reportedly added a humongous 60 million unit supply contract to an existing deal covering 100 million devices.
The 60 million new organic light-emitting diode screens are apparently worth roughly 5 trillion Korean won, or around $4.3 billion, so you can imagine how much Samsung stands to earn overall here. As for Apple, it sounds somewhat risky to put all its eggs in one basket, but then again, we’re talking the most mature, experienced, successful and respected OLED display manufacturer. Otherwise put, it’s probably a win-win.