Apple Reportedly Placed An Order With Samsung To Produce 70 Million iPhone 8 OLED Displays

Samsung and Apple may be fierce competitors in the smartphone space (a rivalry that is only intensifying with the release of the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+), but the latter still relies on the former for crucial components in its iPhone. In the case of upcoming iPhone 8, Apple will lean heavily on Samsung for display panels.

A new report coming out of Japan says that Apple recently placed an order for 70 million organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panels for use in the iPhone 8 flagship (or whatever it will be called when it is announced in September). This will mark the first time that Apple has used OLED technology in its iPhone range despite the fact that Android device manufacturers (most notably, Samsung) have used the tech for many smartphone generations.

Samsung allegedly has the capacity to deliver 95 million panels (during calendar year 2017) if demand is above what Apple initially projects.

It has been separately reported that TSMC is gearing up to begin producing the Apple A11 processor this month, which could be used in both the all-new iPhone 8 and the “refreshed” iPhone 7s. Reports suggest that the A11 will be built on a 10nm FinFET process using wafer-level integrated fan-out (InFO) technology. While the iPhone 8 is expected to be an all-new design with a 5.2-inch display, the iPhone 7s models will likely retain the same 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch form-factors of their predecessors.

The iPhone 8, which will mark the tenth anniversary of the iPhone, will retain its IP68 water and dust resistance rating, but could incorporate an advanced through-the-display Touch ID system, facial recognition technology, and a glass rear panel that will enable wireless charging functionality – another feature that was embraced by the Android community years ago.