As part of Apple’s never-ending efforts to make its products thinner and lighter, a new report from ETNews relays that one of Apple’s next-gen 2019 iPhone models may include a new touch-integrated OLED display. With current iPhone models housing a separate touch panel, integrating everything into a single display could result in a substantial reduction in weight.
The rumored OLED panels will, of course, come from Samsung Display, and are reportedly called ‘Y-OCTA’ displays. According to the report, Samsung just this month managed to produce a batch of displays that were up to par with Apple’s stringent quality standards.
As a new display technology, supply of the ‘Y-OCTA’ panels will likely be in short supply, which is why the new display technology will only be featured on one of Apple’s 2019 iPhone models. With that in mind, it stands to reason that Apple will incorporate the panels on either the iPhone XS or XS Max successor.
All told, a reduction in weight is particularly intriguing and exciting given that the iPhone XS — which weighs in at 6.24 oz — is somewhat hefty as far as iPhone models go. As a point of reference, the iPhone 7 weighed 4.87 oz and the all-time classic iPhone 5s weighed in at a rather svelte 3.95 oz.
Beyond new display technology, Apple’s 2019 iPhone lineup is said to be similar to the company’s 2018 lineup. In other words, we can expect three new iPhone models next year with little or no changes to the overall form factors of the current iPhone XR, XS, and XS Max. Two things to look forward to next year include rumors of a triple-lens camera scheme and a completely redesigned home screen with the roll out of iOS 13.
