A new report from Korean website The Elec indicates that at least some new 2020 iPhones will feature thinner and possibly more power-efficient touch-integrated displays supplied by LG.
LG Display is aiming to upgrade its production facilities for flexible, Gen-6 OLED panels for smaller displays at its E6 lines in Paju of Gyeonggi Province. For this, the firm will be adding new equipment by early 2020 to produce touch-integrated panels, while switching to the LTPO backplane technology.
As the E6 lines are known to be Apple-exclusive, the touch-integrated screens are to be supplied to the new iPhones to be launched next year, according to industry sources on Dec. 17.
The report jibes with a recent report from Korean website ETNews, which claimed that “iPhone 12” models will adopt new technology that allows touchscreen circuitry to be directly patterned on the OLED panel without the need for a separate layer, resulting in a thinner display and lower production costs.
The ETNews report said the lower-cost 6.1-inch model will use the traditional film-based displays supplied by both Samsung and LG.
While the displays may be thinner, it might not translate to a thinner device, as Apple may use the space to include larger batteries, much as they did with the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro lineup, which are slightly thicker than the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max.
Today’s The Elec report also claims LG will be switching to LTPO (low-temperature polycrystalline oxide) backplane technology in the second half of 2020. The backplane turns individual pixels on and off on the display. The technology uses an Oxide TFT structure that uses up to 15% less power than LTPS, or low-temperature polysilicon, the backplane technology currently used by Apple.