A third supply chain report says Apple plans to use LTPO screens for this year’s iPhone Pro models, making ProMotion possible and always on display.
Two previous reports suggested that Apple plans to take the type of OLED panels used in the Apple Watch Series 4 and 5 and bring them to this year’s flagship iPhones …
All iPhone 12 models have OLED screens, and that’s not going to change in this year’s models. But what may change is the type of OLED used – specifically the adoption of low-temperature polycrystalline oxide (LPTO) panels, enabling variable refresh rates. It offers two possibilities.
First, the refresh rate can be increased to improve the responsiveness of the screen. This is what Apple is doing on the iPad Pro using 120Hz refresh cycles under the brand name ProMotion. This is very beneficial for using the Apple Pencil, but also provides smoother and faster actions in games, as well as smoother scrolling.
Secondly, the opposite can be done: the refresh rate decreases if there is little change on the screen. This reduces power consumption. Apple does this on the Apple Watch Series 5 to always turn on the display without harming battery life greatly. (The same display technology is used in the Series 4, but Apple did not choose to enable the feature for that.)
Previous reports have pointed out that LG has made LTPO panels for this year’s iPhones, but today TheElec According to the report, Samsung is the only supplier for 2021.
Samsung Display is the exclusive supplier that Apple uses for organic light emitting diode (OLED) panels used in the two highest models of its next iPhone, TheElec has learned.
Both models of the iPhone 13 use OLED panels with low temperature polycrystalline oxide (LTPO), thin film transistors (TFT), manufactured by Samsung Display.
Apple’s iPhone 13 will have four models and all will use OLED panels. The top two models use LTPO OLED which can support 120Hz refresh rate.
LG is expected to continue to deliver LTPO screens for future iPhones, but only from 2022. Samsung currently has the edge over the technology as it has already been used in the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra.
The report proposes another change next year: it states that although LTPO will be reserved for the Pro models this year, Apple hopes to extend the technology to all of next year’s models.
A few warning notes are in order. First, the source for all three LTPO reports is the same. Second, while LTPO screens are always on-screen, this does not mean that Apple will choose to implement the feature. The company may rather decide to reduce the battery capacity to make slimmer phones.
FTC: We use revenue to earn automatically affiliate links. More.
Check out 9to5Mac on YouTube for more Apple news: