When the iPhone X was released with OLED tech, I created a watchlist in Exodus to track the industry. Since then, the sector has been hit and the shares of some of the key players bedraggled by underperformance. All of that might be coming to an end now, since Apple has announced it will switch over to OLED panels next year — leaving LCD manufactured in the dust to die of thirst.
The American tech juggernaut is reportedly looking at organic light-emitting diode, or OLED, panels, which make images appear brighter and sharper compared to another technology used for some smartphone screens — liquid crystal display, or LCD.
The smartphone maker recently started planning three new iPhone models for next year and decided that all of them would have OLED panels, the report said, citing unnamed industry sources.
CNBC reached out to Apple for comment but did not immediately hear back.
At the moment, only the iPhone X uses OLED, while the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus both have LCD screens. Apple was already expected to employ OLED tech in two of its three models to be shipped later this year, according to Appleinsider.
OLED screens result in rich displays, but they are also more expensive. That is why they are usually seen in high-priced smartphone models like the iPhone X.
Apple had been trying to improve the iPhone’s display technology with OLED to differentiate its smartphones from competitors, according to Jerry Kang, senior principal analyst at IHS Markit.
Still, the tech giant would only be able to “shift to using OLED panels for all iPhone models once it achieves the market demand with competitive price,” Kang told CNBC.
The report from Electronic Times was immediately felt by the stocks of some Apple suppliers.
On Tuesday morning in Tokyo, shares of Japan Display fell more than 20 percent at one point on the back of the news. A shift toward OLED panels for all new iPhones would be initially problematic for the Japanese company, which is one of the main suppliers of LCD screens for Apple.
The main player here is OLED. Other ancillary plays include UCTT, COHR, ORBK and MX.
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