As pressure from dwindling smartphone income and consumers demand for a hit phone continue to mount, Apple Inc may decide to fast track the introduction of its new iPhone with a curved screen come 2017, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
The California, US based company will be marking the tenth year anniversary of its iconic smartphone, the iPhone next year and it is under intense pressure from customers to deliver a very desirable new phone model. In response, Apple is said to be testing more than 10 prototypes for new iPhones that could go on sale in 2017.
The curved screen technology is called an organic light-emitting diode (OLED), a kind of display with deeper blacks and lower power consumption. The Apple model is expected to feature glass casing, wireless charging, and a new edge-to-edge screen design, plus latest chips and technologies.
According to the Journal “most” of Apple’s initial OLED needs will be supplied by its biggest rival – Samsung Electronics. It would also be getting supplies from technology companies like LG Display, Sharp and Japan Display. The supply, the report showed will add billions of dollars to display makers’ sales at a time when many are mired in losses.
Apple will not be the first to shift to OLED screens. According to the Journal, rival smartphone makers like Samsung, Xiaomi Corporation and Google have already adapted from conventional liquid crystal displays to OLED screens.
A recent research conducted by IHS Market showed that revenue in the OLED market for smartphones will surpass the LCD market in 2018 to reach $18.6 billion. Revenue in the smartphone LCD for the previous year reached $20.8 billion compared to $10.6 billion for the OLED.
“We do not know whether Apple’s OLED iPhones will be a hit, but if Apple does not walk down this path and transform itself, there will be no innovation,” Tai Jeng-wu, Sharp CEO said last month. “It is a crisis but it is also an opportunity.”
Interestingly, the Journal warns that the OLED iPhone may be unlikely given that Apple is testing 10 prototypes and reportedly killed an iPhone model months before the launch in 2016.
