Is Apple switching from LCD to OLED screens for iPhone?

According to a report from Japanese business and technology website Nikkan, Japan Display, one of Apple’s biggest suppliers of LCD screens for the iPhone, has begun converting its Ishikawa-based factory into a test production line for OLED screens.

The website reports that this the company hopes to achieve mass production capabilities by 2018, the same year that the iPhone 8 is due to launch.

Apple is said to be in talks with Samsung, LG, and Japan Display to see the OLED panels in action and look into scalability.

Japan Display, a joint venture formed in 2012 by Hitachi, Sony and Toshiba, is one of two major LCD display suppliers for current iPhones alongside rival Japanese company Sharp. Apple has used LCD panels for iPhones since the original model launched in 2007.

KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported last month that iPhones are unlikely to have OLED displays for at least the next three years.

If the rumours were to prove correct, the so-called "iPhone 8" could be released in late 2018 as Apple's first smartphone equipped with an OLED display, based on the company's current naming and release cycle.