14 DAY TRIAL // Apple is believed to be working on an expanded iPhone 7 lineup for 2016, which also includes a smaller 4-inch model, so it’s only natural to expect significant hardware improvements in some areas.
And yet, the display technology that Apple’s going to use is very unlikely to be much different from the one used on the iPhone 6s, as people close to the matter now claim that the company is expected to stick to the LCD panels that have been around for so long now.
AppleInsider writes, citing analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities, that Apple isn’t planning to switch to OLED screens anytime soon, and the first iPhone sporting such a display won’t arrive sooner than 2019.
Most suppliers that Apple’s working with are still making production adjustments and investments in LCD displays, which is pretty much the first sign that a switch to AMOLED isn’t possible for iPhone 7.
AMOLED display on Apple Watch
Foxconn, for example, which is one of the top Apple suppliers, has recently signed a deal with the Chinese government to set new production lines in Zhengzhou that would allow manufacturing six-generation LTPS TFT-LCD screens at the local plant.
Production is scheduled to start in 2018, and this could be living proof of Apple’s long-term commitment to LCD screens for the iPhone.
But this doesn’t necessarily mean that Cupertino is not at all interested in OLED displays. The company has already used such a panel on the Apple Watch, but given the fact that the wearable uses almost exclusively dark menus and interface, the impact on battery life is significantly smaller.
Not the same thing is possible on the iPhone though, where the familiar white settings screen has been around for many years, so Apple might need a more dramatic change to the OS before switching to an OLED screen.
The iPhone 7 lineup is projected to launch in September 2016, but some sources claim that it could actually arrive a few months sooner this time. Keep in mind that these are all just rumors for the time being, so take them with a healthy pinch of salt until a confirmation is offered.