LG Display OLED To iPhone 8, The Korean Company Expected To Confirm The Deal During A Board Meeting This June
Last week, reports said that the Google wants to invest in the LG Display with almost $1 Billion for the OLED display they want to use to their Pixel 2 series. But the two giant companies did not sign an agreement.
On the recent report, it seems the LG Display company wants a bigger opportunity for the upcoming Apple iPhone 8. According to the source, the LG Display decided to supply small and medium panels for Apple's upcoming smartphone device, apparently, the company asked LG directly to submit bids.
"The company received a request to take part in a bid for receiving an order for small and medium-sized OLEDs from the Apple." LG Display said. "Before the month of June ended, we will make a decision based on OLED production technology, capacity and the accompanying investment volume in a very special board meeting."
Today's smartphones manufacturers are moving from LCD to OLED screens. For the LG Display, they need to make huge investments to produce OLED displays, but the company doesn't want to miss out on the trend.
According to the source, the annual sales volume of the Apple's iPhone 8 with OLEDs is estimated at 40 million units. Although LG Display was a few months behind the Samsung, its E5's annual production volume reached 5.5 million units, bringing the display company enough volume to supply OLEDs to the huge market, including Apple and other Chinese manufacturers.
Speaking of Samsung, owning 95% of the smartphone OLED display market, the South Korean company is the biggest rival of the LG Display. Rumors claim that Apple inked OLED deals with Samsung worth over $9 billion, however, as The Investor noted, Apple's iPhone 8 will secure parts from the Korean suppliers, including Samsung Display for OLED screens.
On the other hand, this Apple investment to LG Displays doesn't mean that the Google smartphones with the OLED display will never happen. We could expect more updates about the Google Pixel 2 these coming weeks