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Some of the most important parts of the next iPhone won't be made in China

By Luis D.

Updated: Apr 17, 2017, 2:03 PM

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Concept image by Martin Hajek

"Designed in California. Made in China" – is what it says on the iPhone's back. But the display, a key and defining part of the upcoming OLED iPhone's design and functionality, is going to be all Korean. It's a public secret that Samsung Display is supplying the lion's share, if not the entire volume of orders for the phone's rumored "all-screen" display panel.

But The Investor reports that Samsung Display, in tandem with several key supplies both under and outside the Samsung umbrella, is responsible for the entire screen assembly. Samsung System LSI, the semiconductor division that manufactures camera sensors and application processors, is also going to build the display driver chip.

South Korea should change its national flag to an OLED screen.

STEMCO and LG Innotek, both Korean companies, will deliver the chip on films that connect it to a flexible printed circuit board – one provided by Interflex, BH, and Samsung Electro-Mechanics. All three companies hail from South Korea as well.

The country pretty much owns the global OLED display business, with Samsung's market share alone estimated at 95%. And while they are at it, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix will deliver the memory chips, as LG Innotek is building the camera modules.

Combine Apple's design skill with the Koreans' technological precision, and the next iPhone seems more exciting than it ever did! Analysts estimate Apple has ordered between 80 and 95 million units of the OLED iPhone for this year alone, so hopefully, there will be plenty of iPhones for everyone.

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source: The Investor via 9to5mac.com

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Luis D. has a multitude of news, features and review articles written for PhoneArena. He adeptly demystifies complex technology topics, such as the development of advanced materials for bendable device displays and the evolution of chipset manufacturing.