Sketchy report says 2018 ‘iPhone 9’ to feature OLED screens in two new sizes

Although it seems silly to consider the 2018 iPhone whilst we are still deep in rumors about the iPhone 8, Apple as a company works on much longer timelines.

As such, ‘The Bell’ (via Korea Herald) is reporting that Apple has agreed a deal with Samsung to supply OLED panels for the ‘iPhone 9’. The report claims the phones will include larger 5.28-inch and 6.46-inch OLED displays …

For the iPhone 8, we are expecting a radical new form factor made out of stainless steel and glass, with the design focusing on a near bezel-less 5.8-inch OLED screen on the front face.

It seems logical that Apple would continue to use OLED in the generation after that as well, although the suggestion of entirely-new screen sizes is surprising.

The report said the iPhone 9 is expected to come in two OLED models — 5.28- and 6.46-inch display sizes. Samsung’s OLED shipment is also likely to be more than double at 180 million units.

“Other details such as screen design and functions could be adjusted considering the phone is still under development.”

The very specific claims of 5.28-inch and 6.46-inch screen dimensions are interesting in that, if true, Apple would be introducing another change in iPhone form factor in 2018. Contrast that scenario to the iPhone 7, which uses the same general chassis design as the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s.

For this year, we are expecting Apple to announce two iterative updates to the 4.7-inch iPhone 7 and 5.5-inch iPhone 7 Plus alongside the radical new ‘iPhone 8’.

Whilst these ‘7s phones’ will use LCD panels this year, the notion of two new OLED panel sizes for next year could mean that Apple transitions to an all-OLED iPhone lineup as soon as next year.

For iPhone 8, Samsung has reportedly signed a deal with Apple to make more than 70 million OLED screens in 2017. The report from today says that Samsung’s OLED shipments to Apple could ‘more than double’ to 180 million units in 2018.

We would definitely take any reports about 2018 iPhones with a lot of skepticism at this point, but note that early reports about next-next-generation phones have turned out to be accurate in the past.