The second half of the year will bring us a bunch of new flagship handsets, including the Galaxy Note 9, new iPhone models, and the Pixel 3. In fact, we’re now seeing rumors detailing these products on a daily basis. But it’s rare to see a report about the next-gen iPhone bring good news to Pixel fans looking forward to buying one of this year’s Pixel 3 handsets.
A report from the South China Morning Post says that Apple is considering using LG Display-made OLED screens in between 2 million and 4 million iPhone X Plus units. This isn’t the first time LG is rumored to be joining Samsung when it comes to OLED suppliers for the iPhone, but LG is apparently closer than ever to landing the deal.
Two rounds of approvals, the first one due in July, are all that separate LG from winning Apple’s orders. LG manufacturing OLED screens for the iPhones would be excellent news for the entire smartphone business. The OLED contract is very lucrative for Samsung, as the screen is the iPhone X’s most expensive component. By bringing LG in, Apple is aiming to reduce the cost of OLED displays, a move that should help other vendors, Google included.
However, what’s even more important for Pixel 3 buyers is Apple’s nod of approval. Should LG win an iPhone contract, it’ll mean that LG Display is finally ready to deliver the high-quality OLED screens Apple wants, displays that match Samsung’s performance.
How is this important to Google and the Pixel fan base? Well, the Pixel 3 XL, which will have an iPhone X-like design, is said to pack an OLED screen made by LG.
Last year’s Pixel 2 XL also had an LG OLED screen on board, but that screen was the source of unexpected controversies. Various performance issues forced early reviewers to rethink their conclusions. Google heard the criticism and issued software updates to fix the various problems. The Pixel 2, which packs a Samsung OLED screen, wasn’t affected by the same problems. In fact, Samsung at a time ran a TV commercial about the quality of its own OLED screens.
If Apple is happy with LG’s display tech, then it must mean the South Korean company has made significant improvements when it comes to building OLED screens for smartphones. LG, of course, already makes excellent OLED screens for TVs, so it’s about time we see LG OLED screens in more handsets, 2018 iPhone models included.
