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Apple display supplier Samsung is in the early stages of preparing its production line for OLED displays that are expected to be used in future models of the MacBook Pro, according to new information shared today by The Elec.
The report says that Samsung Display has begun
early development of a new production process for OLED displays. This new
production capacity will be used by Apple for future OLED MacBooks, according
to the report.
DigiTimes has reported that Apple is tentatively
scheduled to release a 16 to 17-inch MacBook Pro with an OLED display in 2022.
Apple is also reportedly planning a 10.9-inch iPad and 12.9-inch iPad Pro with
OLED displays for the same year.
Apple just this year released a new iPad Pro with a mini-LED
display and is expected to be just weeks away from launching updated 14-inch
and 16-inch MacBook Pros with similar display technology. DigiTimes said that
Apple would allow iPad and MacBook models
with OLED and mini-LED displays, which are considerably different technologies,
to coexist within their respective product lineups.
Apple currently uses OLED displays in its flagship
iPhones, Apple Watch models, and the Touch Bar in the current MacBook Pros. The
company has yet to expand OLED technology to other products.
It is uncertain whether Apple would pay a penalty
to Samsung Display, but considering its contract history and sluggish sales of
the iPhone
12 mini, it is likely that Apple will compensate Samsung,"
an industry official said on condition of anonymity.
Samsung
is the sole supplier of the 5.4-inch panel used in the iPhone 12
mini, the smallest model of Apple's 5G-supporting iPhone
12
series.
If the prediction turns out to be accurate, it
would be the third time that Apple has had to reimburse Samsung
for missing OLED display targets after saying it would buy a certain number
of the panels from the South Korean company.
Apple
reportedly paid Samsung an estimated $683 million in 2019 and
approximately $950 million in 2020 for similarly below-par OLED
panel orders.
Samsung
remains the world's leading smartphone display panel vendor, and
has provided the overwhelming majority of OLED panels for Apple's iPhones
over the last few years.
According to Omdia, global OLED panel shipments
reached 53 million units in January, and Samsung Display accounted
for 85 percent of them.
Despite a barrage of reports this year suggesting
lackluster iPhone 12 mini sales, Apple is expected to retain its
smallest 5.4-inch iPhone model size in its forthcoming iPhone 13 lineup.
Related Roundup: iPhone 12
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