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Samsung tech to make the next iPhone better and cheaper

Not only will the switch to touch-integrated flexible OLED panels help to make the next iPhone thinner, but it should also be cheaper (for Apple at any rate).
Written by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes, Contributing Writer

Have you noticed how iPhones have become thicker in recent years? In part this is down to the increasingly complex display technology that Apple uses. But the shift to new Samsung touch-integrated flexible OLED panels should help reverse this trend towards a more bloated design.

Oh, and it should also be cheaper. For Apple, anyway.

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ETNews is reporting that Apple is making use of the technology, called Y-Octa, in some of next year's iPhones.

"Samsung Display will supply touch-integrated flexible organic light emitting diode (OLED) panels to Apple's iPhone. It is Samsung style OLED which is called 'Y-OCTA'. It's the first time Apple has applied touch-integrated displays to the iPhone. Touch-integrated OLEDs are expected to launch thinner and lighter iPhones."

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Why only some of next year's iPhones (likely the flagship models)? The reason offered by by ETNews - and it's a very plausible one - is limited supply. It's likely as production yields increase that these touch-integrated flexible OLED panels will find their way into all new iPhones.


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So how bloated has the iPhone become? Well, the original 2007 iPhone measured in at 11.6mm, growing each year until it hit 12.3mm with the 2009 iPhone 3GS. From there it has hovered a few fractions of a millimeter either side of the 7.5mm mark, with the only major deviations being the 2013 iPhone 5C, which measured in at a hefty 8.97mm, and the 2018 iPhone XR, which is 8.3mm thick.

The iPhone X, iPhone XS, and iPhone XS Max all measured 7.7mm thick.

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Do you want a thinner iPhone? Or would you rather Apple use the extra space to make the battery bigger?

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