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Report: Apple Needs 100M iPhone OLED Panels

Apple intends to double its OLED order with Samsung, but wants a $10 discount.

April 24, 2018
iPhone X

Last week, we reported that Apple looks to be stuck with using Samsung to source all its OLED panels for the 2018 iPhones. That's because LG is experiencing production problems and therefore can't guarantee its supply. Now it seems Apple is set to double its OLED order with Samsung, but wants a discount in return.

Apple is expected to launch two new smartphones using an OLED screen this year. The first is a 5.8-inch successor to the iPhone X ($999.00 at Verizon) , while the other is a 6.5-inch iPhone X Plus. In order to do that, DigiTimes reports that Apple requires 25 million OLED panels for the existing iPhone X, but a further 75 million for the new models.

Last year, Samsung supplied Apple with 50 million OLED panels costing around $110 each. So the order this year will be for 100 million, a doubling of the supply. It is thought than in return for this much larger order, Apple requires Samsung to lower the price to $100 per panel.

Samsung could rightly refuse, knowing Apple doesn't have too many options to go elsewhere without adding significant risk. However, DigiTimes also believes that OLED panels for smartphones are soon going to become much cheaper because Chinese suppliers are eager to keep production lines running at full capacity and will lower pricing to achieve it. If that's the case, Samsung will probably agree to $100 per panel so as to secure the order before prices drop.

If OLED panels are going to get significantly cheaper later this year, then anyone who purchased an iPhone X last year would do well to wait until the 2019 iPhones appear to upgrade. Chances are you may not need to spend $1,000 to buy one.

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About Matthew Humphries

Senior Editor

I started working at PCMag in November 2016, covering all areas of technology and video game news. Before that I spent nearly 15 years working at Geek.com as a writer and editor. I also spent the first six years after leaving university as a professional game designer working with Disney, Games Workshop, 20th Century Fox, and Vivendi.

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