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Apple to include OLED displays in the iPhone 8

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Sick of the iPhone 6s already? Bored even by rumors of next year’s iPhone 7? Well, we’ve got good news. Cast your mind forward three years and three iPhone generations and you might just see Apple finally adopting OLED displays for their flagship smartphone.

According to a report from Japan, Apple is planning to release the iPhone 8 in 2018 with an OLED display in place of the LCD technology currently used, having already notified suppliers of its plans.

OLED displays offer “better power efficiency, contrast, and more saturated colors” when compared with LCD screens. Smartphones from big competitors like Samsung and LG have already made the switch to OLED, so it could be seen that Apple are lagging behind somewhat. Display expert Raymond Soneira says that while OLED displays have advanced dramatically in recent times, LCDs have been “coasting on their laurels for years.”

The Apple Watch already features OLED, so we can surmise that Apple like the technology. The Watch was sold on a much smaller scale than the iPhone, though – it’s possible that production scales are part of the reason for delaying the switch.

Though 2018 may seem like a long way away, it actually makes sense for this kind of decision to be made so far in advance. Apple will already be working on the designs for next year’s iPhone 7, and the interim ‘s’ model that will be expected the following year will likely be based on the exact same body. So without disrupting any current designs, the iPhone 8 is probably the next opportunity to make a big change to the handset.

While this is still a rumor at this stage, news that Apple is likely to need many millions of OLED screens in a few years’ time will prompt display manufacturers to up their game and improve the technology even faster, in a bid to secure a supply contract when the times comes. It could mean that by the time 2018 rolls around, OLED technology is more impressive than ever.

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