Samsung Display, a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics, has made a deal with Apple to supply an additional 60 million units of organic light-emitting diode panels, worth about $4.3 billion, for the next-generation iPhone, according to The Korea Herald.
The new deal comes after the Korean display maker struck a deal last year supplying 100 million OLED display panels for the upcoming “iPhone 8,” which will be the first iPhone to adopt an OLED screen, the article claims. Considering Apple sells 200 million iPhones a year, the combined 160 million units of OLED panels will make up almost 80% of the entire sales. So far the only product Apple makers with an OLED is the Apple Watch. LG provides the smartwatch displays. iPhones and iPads use LCD technology, which offers lower manufacturing costs than OLED screens.
LCDs use a backlight behind the screen to emit light, and act as a valve allowing different amounts of this light to create the colors and images on the display. OLED is made up of many tiny LEDs, each emitting their own light and colors. They don’t require an “always on” backlight, as each LED can be on or off as needed, and emitting the right kind of light needed to create the images you’re seeing.
