For as much as Apple and Samsung wrestle with each other in both the courts and market, they still have to work together. Samsung has long supplied Apple with parts for its iPhone and iPad lineups and it looks like they’ll be contributing to the iPhone 8. It’s being reported that Samsung will supply Apple with 160 million OLED panels for the upcoming iPhone which is a pretty huge number of panels. Rumors have been that the new iPhone will come in three configurations with the high-end version housing those OLED panels.
Extreme Tech makes a valid point when they discuss the quantity of OLED panels Apple is ordering. Apple shipped 211 million iPhones last year and 231 million in 2015, so this order constitutes about 76% of its previous sales in OLED panels. It would seem that Apple is expecting its larger and most expensive version of the iPhone 8, to sell extremely well. That’s a pretty big gamble considering the rumored retail cost of the new OLED iPhone is north of $1,000USD.
This leaves us wondering if Apple will indeed offer 3 versions of the iPhone or perhaps get rid of the 4.7″ iPhone and keep only the 5.5″. It’s rumored that the new iPhone will house a 5.8″ OLED display and the other versions will keep their LCD display and remain more affordable. There’s lots of speculation swirling around this deal with Samsung and what Apple is up to. The fact that Apple is having their part orders fulfilled is also pointing to a possible early release of the next iPhone.
However it shakes out, Samsung is certain to make a good profit from this massive sale but it also brings into question how many OLEDs they’ll have for other manufacturers.
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