Apple picks just one company to supply it with all of the OLED panels needed for iPhone Fold
A foldable iPhone is on the way and, according to Business Korea, it will feature foldable OLED panels from Samsung Display. The latter beat out LG Display and China's BOE to get the job. This news dovetails with a report issued last May by securities analyst Jeff Pu who said at the time that Apple and Samsung had inked a pactcalling for Samsung to provide Apple with foldable OLED panels for an upcoming foldable device.
Just the other day more rumored information about the panels was posted on China's Weibo social media site by leaker Digital Chat Station. According to the post, the foldable iPhone will be equipped with a 7.76-inch internal display with a resolution of 1920 x 2713 which results in a pixel density of 428 pixels per inch. To put that in perspective, the display on the iPhone 16 Pro Max has a PPI tally of 460 and a resolution of 1320 x 2868.
The OLED cover display, also to be supplied solely by Samsung, will measure 5.4 inches and sport a resolution of 1422 x 2088. It will have a PPI number of around 460. This means that the cover screen on the foldable iPhone will be similar to the display of the iPhone 13 mini giving the iPhone Fold a pocketable form factor. According to Digital Chat Station, the iPhone Fold's 7.76-inch internal display will feature an under-display camera; the cover screen will sport a hole punch lens opening for selfies and photos shot with the phone's front-facing camera.
The foldable OLED panel for the iPhone FOLD measures 7.76 inche
Samsung, the sole supplier of the iPhone Fold displays, will start production on the panels late this year or early next year. The 7.76-inch internal display for the iPhone Fold will be similar to the 7.8-inch screen that comes with the iPad mini. Meanwhile, full scale production of the phone will start late this year or early next year. Apple plans on doing whatever it can to remove or reduce the dreaded "crease" from the iPhone Fold's display. The price tag for the iPhone Fold is expected to be in the $2,000 area.
Samsung has a 40% market share in foldables. Competition from China has reduced Samsung's market share and Apple's long-awaited entry into foldable phones should make life even more difficult for the South Korean manufacturer.
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