The iPhone 8 will bring us what will probably be Apple’s biggest screen upgrade since the introduction of the retina display: an OLED screen that should offer users an even better iPhone experience. However, only one of the three iPhone 8 units expected next year will ship with an OLED display. OLED technology has reached a point where it’s affordable to use on the iPhone, a move Apple kept postponing due to cost and supply concerns. But screen supply won’t be able to meet Apple’s requirements, and two iPhone 8 versions will launch with LCD displays.
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Apple has been doing some amazing things with LCD technology on the iPhone 7 and iPad Pro, but experts still say that LCD displays can’t match OLEDs.
But it turns out that at least one company is working on technology that can make LCD great again. Panasonic came up with LCD screens that can offer a contrast ratio of 1,000,000:1, which is simply amazing. Most LCD displays can get you an 1,800:1 contrast ratio. The iPhone 7, for that matter, has a 1,762:1 contrast ratio, according to the experts at DisplayMate.
Panasonic’s new tech will control the light on a pixel-by-pixel basis, similar to what happens with OLED panels. A new layer of light-modulating cells will “permit pixel-by-pixel control of backlight intensity.” That means a Panasonic LCD could offer deeper blacks and better colors in future products, similar to what an OLED screen has to offer.
Sadly, Panasonic isn’t your average iPhone LCD display supplier. The new LCD technology could be used for TV sets, but Panasonic isn’t doing TV either. The company will instead make LCD displays for medical and automatic contexts, The Verge notes.
However, it’s likely that Panasonic competitors will be eager to replicate this LCD innovation and adapt it for other devices, including iPhones. After all, what better way to attract Apple’s attention than with an LCD display that can offer OLED-like performance for a lower price?
