Apple to Equip All Four 5G iPhone Models with OLED Displays... Charger Excluded

OLED Support Starting from iPhone X... First Time Installed on All Models

Customers visiting the Apple Garosugil store in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on the 25th, the domestic release date of the iPhone 11, are experiencing the iPhone 11. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] Apple will equip all four iPhone 12 models with OLED displays.

According to Nikkei Asian Review on the 7th (local time), Apple will apply OLED displays to all iPhone 12 series models. Contrary to the expectation that one 5.4-inch and one 6.1-inch model among the four would have LCD displays, all will be released as OLED iPhones.

Apple first applied OLED displays in the iPhone X in 2017. In the iPhone 11 series, only the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max were equipped with OLED displays. The iPhone 11 and the 2nd generation iPhone SE both had LCDs. OLED displays have the advantage of higher power efficiency and more vivid color reproduction compared to LCDs.

Nikkei Asian Review quoted a source saying, "All four iPhone 12 models will be equipped with flexible OLED displays," and added, "The notch at the top of the display will be maintained due to the Face ID function." It seems it will take some time for Apple to integrate the Face ID module into the display.

The increasing adoption rate of OLED displays is a natural progression. Not only Samsung Electronics but also Chinese manufacturers such as Huawei, Oppo, and Vivo are equipping premium smartphones with OLEDs. Market research firm TrendForce predicted that OLED displays will be applied to more than half of smartphones by 2022. In particular, it analyzed that Samsung's OLED display market share will exceed 74% as of 2020.

With Apple's decision to adopt OLED displays, display suppliers are expected to experience mixed fortunes. Eric Chiu, a display analyst at TrendForce, said, "Apple has no choice but to switch to OLED displays like its competitors," but added, "However, it will likely apply LCD displays to older models or mid-to-low-end models where cost reduction is necessary."

Meanwhile, Apple will no longer provide chargers and wired earphones starting with the iPhone 12. Apple recently conducted a survey asking users about chargers. Nikkei explained, "One reason is to reduce costs, but also because existing users have accumulated many chargers over the past few years."

Run Evni, who operates a YouTube channel that reveals iPhone 3D concepts, also shared a box insert rendering presumed to be for the iPhone 12 box. The revealed box insert is designed with a round area to place a USB-C type cable and a thin rectangular shape for manuals.