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Apple tipped to use LG as a foldable iPhone supplier, since Samsung may leak the design

By Daniel Petrov

Updated: Oct 11, 2017, 3:09 AM

Samsung LG Apple Display iPhone Foldables

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Images from Apple's patent for Flexible Display Devices

Samsung may finally be producing its unicorn of a foldable phone in a limited batch, but Apple is taking notice, it seems, as Korean media reports today it has tasked LG with the production of flexible OLED panel and circuit board for an eventual bendy iPhone prototype of its own, some Apple patents for which you can see above. Currently, Apple's OLED screen needs for the iPhone X and, likely, for the 2018 crop, will be supplied by Samsung, but the team from Cupertino may break that monopoly a year or two from now by investing in LG and other smaller OLED makers.

LG will have an OLED display factory ready to fulfill the mass quantities that Apple usually orders no earlier than 2019, but its readiness to make any potential flexible iPhone batches will be stretched even further into the future, around 2020, so, as usual, Apple might wait to see what Samsung does with foldable handsets, and whether these will take off at all, before it jumps the gun on an offering of its own.

As for why Apple hasn't chosen Samsung, which is way ahead in flexible phone patents and research, and might even have a device on the market next year, the reason is simple. Reportedly, Apple is concerned with leaks from Samsung's conveyor belts that will disclose its own approach towards the eventual bendy iPhones to the arch-rival, and that is why it has chosen LG for the flexible panels and circuits, as it's much less of a threat, both leakswise, and in terms of market share.

source: Korea Herald

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Daniel, a devoted tech writer at PhoneArena from 2010 to 2025, has been engrossed in mobile technology since the Windows Mobile era. His expertise spans mobile hardware, software, and carrier networks, and he's keenly interested in the future of digital health, car connectivity, and 5G. Beyond his professional pursuits, Daniel finds balance in travel, reading, and exploring new tech innovations, while contemplating the ethical and privacy implications of our digital future.