Apple, LG Reportedly Team up for Future Foldable iPhone
Apple could be depending on a new source – LG Display – to provide the OLED screen technology for a foldable iPhone in the future. That’s according to a new report from the Korea Herald.
An image from a 2016 Apple patent detailing a foldable iPhone screen.
Credit: Patently AppleIf correct, Apple would be making the change from Samsung. The site says that a possible reason could be concerns over leaks to the smartphone rival:
According to The Bell on Oct. 11, LG Display recently created a task force to develop a foldable OLED screen for the new iPhone model, while its parts-making sister firm LG Innotek has also setup a team dedicated to developing the rigid flexible printed circuit board, more widely called RFPCB.
But don’t expect to see any iPhone with the foldable technology anytime soon. Production on the planet could start in 2020:
Apple usually starts a new phone project a year before launch, sharing key features, including the panel, with suppliers. LG reportedly completed its own foldable OLED panel prototype two to three years ago and has been upgrading the durability and the yield rate.
Currently, Samsung is the sole provider of the OLED screen technology for the upcoming iPhone X.
Interestingly, the company could be making more revenue on each iPhone X than even with its own Galaxy S8 Android handset. Samsung may introduce its own foldable phone in 2018.
Apple has been researching foldable screen technology for some time, as evident by a 2016 patent.
