According to a recent report by The Korea Times, Apple has started preparing foldable iPhones — which would likely arrive in a few years. This would be made possible through Apple’s partnership with LG Display. This is not the first time that rumors about foldable iPhones surfaced, but The Korea Times’ sources said that this concept is now more feasible.
Apple is also reportedly considering having LG Display as a “second supplier” for its upcoming premium iPhones with advanced organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panels.
LG Display will initially provide between 3 million and 5 million OLED displays to Apple. And later on, LG will increase production capacity. By working with LG Display, it will help Apple cut costs and gain access to faster OLED production.
Samsung Display has been Apple’s primary supplier for OLEDs thus far. Apple’s deal with Samsung Display reportedly involved the production of about 110 million OLED iPhone X displays.
“Apple wants to expand the partnership with LG into OLEDs from LCDs,” said The Korea Times’ source. “However, the key concern is LG has smaller production capacity for OLEDs used in portable gadgets compared to Samsung Display. The quality of the V30 display isn’t as good as Samsung’s OLED display in its Galaxy lineup.”
In an investor note earlier this year, Bank of America Merrill Lynch Senior Equity Research Analyst Wamsi Mohan speculated that foldable iPhones could arrive in 2020. “We expect the iPhones this fall to be largely unchanged for the OLED versions although size changes have proved to be a catalyst in the past,” wrote Mohan in a note to clients back in March via CNBC. “Our checks also suggest that Apple is working with suppliers on a foldable phone (that potentially could double up as a tablet) for launch in 2020.”
