Apple’s Next Flagship iPhone Could Be Cheaper, Thanks to Samsung

A major part of themanufacturing costof the iPhone X and iPhone XS has been the OLED display, for whichApple is solely dependent on Samsung. For a while, the iPhone-maker has beengrappling for alternative display manufacturers, so much so that Samsung Electronics’ display arm has shown some mercy anddecided to offer OLED panels for cheaper.

Cheaper does not necessarily translate to lower quality, asKorean mediareports that Samsung will be providingflexible OLED panels for 2019 iPhoneswith in-cell touch technology. These are the same “Y-Octa” OLED panels which Samsung uses on its own flagships including theGalaxy S9, S9+, andNote 9.

What makes these Samsung displays special is that they have thetouch functionality built into the displayinstead of having to integrate “film-type touchscreen panels (TSPs)” like other display makers do. This allows the displays to be thinner and lighter, besides being cost-effective. Apple was reportedly mulling these flexible OLED panels foriPhones launched this yearbut abandoned the plans due to poor supply at the beginning of 2018.iPhone XS Max

These flexible OLEDs havetwo major advantages for Appleand the first one being their cost. The more affordable panels might allow Apple to bring the cost of next year’s iPhones down a bit.

While Apple isgiving up on the traditionof informing investors about the number of units sold during a particular quarter – or at least flinch from sharing this information publically, analysts have shown that Apple issuffering from “slumping” sales of the iPhone XSand refreshed price could help it reclaim some of the lost ground.

Apple leaks Q1 2019 earningspic.twitter.com/JWu1q8sYzK

— Benjamin Mayo (@bzamayo)November 1, 2018

Secondly, the flexible displaymight allow Apple to revive 3D Touchon these OLED iPhones – even though the feature has limited usability and with iPhone XR, Apple has demonstrated how itmight not be essential.

Just like this year, we expect leaks about iPhone XI lineup (or whatever it will be called) to start pouring in from the very beginning of 2019 and we’ll keep you updated with those.

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