Apple has invested at least $1.7 billion in LG Display's OLED production, industry watchers say
The iPhone 8 has been plagued by OLED panel shortages, which is a likely reason behind Apple's investment
This is where Apple comes in: at the very minimum, an investment of 2 trillion won (or about $1.8 in U.S. currency) is needed for such a move to be possible. Rumors about the partnership between Apple and LG have been floating around for quite a while, and while both companies are still refusing to confirm the deal's existence, industry watchers say LG would not have moved ahead with its plans if the two companies hadn't already inked it.
As for what Apple gets out of the investment, the answer is simple: dibs on LG's future OLED panels. With the iPhone 8's move to organic displays, Apple has been facing a massive shortage of panels, which it likely wants to avoid in the future. And in fact, insiders reportedly claim that a result of the investment will be a whole new OLED production line dedicated entirely to iPhones.
Curiously enough, the news comes out mere days after we first heard rumors of Apple buying its own OLED manufacturing machines. So it appears future iPhone models have a fair chance of being manufactured by three separate companies: Apple, LG Display, and Samsung Display (who is currently making the iPhone 8's displays as well).
source: The Investor
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