Samsung is currently in a privileged position when it comes to supplying parts for the iPhone 8, as the Korean giant is the only company which can meet Apple’s needs when it comes to one critical component: OLED displays. But Samsung Display will likely not be the only provider of OLED screens going forward, as many other screen makers are adapting their production lines to address Apple’s iPhone needs — and Apple isn’t going to be the only smartphone maker that will need plenty of OLED screens in the future.
A new report from Korea seems to tell us what we already know: LG wants to be an OLED display supplier as well in the coming years. But the report from ETNews offers more details about LG’s plans.
Apparently, the Korean company is investing $3.56 billion in its OLED plants that will mass-produce flexible screens in the future.
The report says that LG is ready to pivot from making large OLED displays for TVs to smartphones. LG wants to secure its position as the second supplier for the iPhone, by increasing production capabilities for OLED smartphone screens.
ETNews also mentions that Apple is thinking about using OLED screens for the entire iPhone lineup starting with 2018 and that Chinese handset makers are also focusing on OLED panels.
Running at full capacity, which will probably happen by the end of the next year, LG’s OLED factories could manufacture some 120,000 flexible OLED panels per month, which is about half of Samsung’s current production. Samsung, meanwhile, is investing billions of dollars of its own in OLED factory upgrades.
